Imperial Japanese rations
Imperial Japanese rations were the field rations issued by Imperial Japan in World War II, and which reflected the culture of the Japanese military. Rations had to be stout, durable, simple, sturdy and had to survive without refrigeration for long periods of time. Typically each ration was served in the field in canned food boxes, and cooked near the battlefield. The mess tin was known as a han-gou.
The rations issued by the Imperial Japanese Government usually consisted of rice with barley, meat or fish, pickled or fresh vegetables, umeboshi, shoyu sauce, miso or bean paste, and green tea. A typical field ration would have of rice, usually mixed with barley to combat nutritional deficiencies such as beriberi. Often, soldiers would forage for fresh fruit to provide vitamins.
Typically ¼ cup of canned tuna, or sausages, and/or squid would be cooked from either captured locations or hunting in the nearby area. Preserved foods from Japan typically were issued sparingly. Other foods issued included 1¼ cups of canned cabbage, coconut, sweet potato, burdock, lotus root, taro, bean sprouts, peaches, mandarin oranges, lychee or beans. 3 teaspoons of pickled radish, pickled cucumber, umeboshi, scallions and ginger added flavor to the rations. Sometimes less than an ounce of [List of List of dried foods|dried foods|dried] seaweed, was issued for making onigiri in the field, or beer and/or sake was issued to help boost morale.
The Japanese suffered from poor logistics and packaging, resulting in an inability to resupply as well as food spoilage, respectively. Canned food was not always available in sufficient quantities. The majority of Japanese food items including rice and kanpan were packed in cotton bags or paper sacks which was fine in the drier climate of China, but made them vulnerable to extreme humidity in the South Pacific. Unlike American troops which carried a pre-packaged set of K-rations as standard equipment, the Japanese soldiers often lacked daily rations. Instead, the Japanese frequently relied on bulk deliveries of food stuffs that would then be distributed to troops in the field, which reduced the loads that individual soldiers carried enabling them to march further. This worked well when large swathes of China were under solid Japanese control, as supplies could be delivered by roads with little fear of enemy attack, plus foraging was possible with plenty of local food production. However, for campaigns on the Pacific Islands, the Japanese relied upon transport ships for supplies, which were targeted by American submarines and aircraft. Resupply duties then turned to submarines or destroyers, which would float rations ashore in drums or rubber bladders but this last-ditch effort was largely impractical and ineffective, due to the high fuel consumption of these warships, as well as many supply drums being lost at sea.
Field rations
Two types of rations were issued- normal rations for mealtimes, and special rations to be carried by the soldier.Normal ration
A single ration of this type included the following:- 660 g of rice
- 209 g of barley
- 209 g of raw meat
- 600 g of vegetables
- 60 g of pickles
- small quantities of flavoring, salt, and sugar
Special ration
A single ration included the following:- 580 g of rice
- 230 g of biscuits
- 150 g of canned meat
- 120 g of dried vegetables
- 31 g of dried plums, and small quantities of salt, sugar, and sometimes a can of beer or sake
Emergency rations
Five days worth of rations were issued to each soldier for emergency use. The ration consisted of:- Small sack of rice
- Package of compact food
- Package of hardtack
- Can of tea
- Half a pound of hard candy
- Vitamin pills