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The U.S. occupation of Japan persisted from 1945-1952 after the Japanese surrendered from World War II in September of 1945. This presence greatly impacted Japanese food distribution, since most of its policies reinforced the rationing system impacted by the Japanese to monitor resources during the war. The U.S. and Japanese officials were unable to allocate food efficiently, which led to an extreme hunger crisis. This issue impacted U.S. foreign policy in East Asia, as American officials attempted to mediate this problem. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 5-6, 8-10)

Factors of Hunger

Japanese internal food production declined by approximately 26% in the last two years of the The Pacific War when the government prioritized resources, such as animals, fertilizers and tools, towards the war effort that had previously been extended to farmers. In many cases, these commodities were destroyed through warfare, further depleting these already limited resources. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 6)

Okumura Ayao, a Japanese food scholar, recalls the food crisis’ impact in rural areas. He said:

"From 1944 on, even in the countryside, the athletic grounds of local schools were converted into sweet potato fields. And we ate every part of the sweet potato plant, from the leaf to the tip of the root…For protein, we ate beetles, beetle larvae, and other insects that we found at the roots of the plants we picked, which we roasted or mashed. Even in the countryside, food was scarce."

(George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 6)

This issue was compounded by the fact that Korea and Taiwan, Japan’s former rice-producing colonies, were liberated at the end of the war. As a result, Japan had to depend entirely on its own outputs. Furthermore, poor weather and extended warfare that ravaged arable land led to mediocre harvests in 1944 and 1945. The return of eight million expatriates from Japanese colonies added to the high demand for food. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 2, 6)

In 1940, the Japanese government established a food rationing system for food items such as vegetables, sugar, seafood, dairy goods, and rice. Rations for adults included only 1.3 to 1.8 ounces of meat, and 1.8 ounces of fish a day. By 1945, they only received 1,793 calories on a day-to-day basis due to further restrictions. These limited rations were especially problematic in cities that relied entirely on government rations, such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, and Yokohama. (Food and War in Mid-Twentieth Century East Asia, 131-132)

People in provincial towns and cities that were not as dependent on the rationing system were relatively less affected, until the Allies bombed Japanese home islands in 1944. Farming families were mostly spared from hunger, since they produced their own food. However, most Japanese citizens bought their food from the markets, which were contingent on the rationing system. In response, the Japanese government encouraged families to vacate cities for better conditions in the countryside. As a result, parents sent their children to live with relatives. About 1,303,200 children were evacuated, 857,000 of which went to live with family, while the other 446,200 were taken in by Buddhist temples, inns, and local families. Nonetheless, relocation was minimally effective, since the children still received small rations in the countryside. Since these rations were continuously reduced, the food shortage persisted. From 1943 to 1945, a child’s total daily rations declined from 19.2 ounces to 14.4 ounces. (Food and War in Mid-Twentieth Century East Asia, 133-136)

A girl named Hashimoto Kumiko, who was relocated to a farm during the Pacific War describes her experience of hunger in the book, Food and War in Mid-Twentieth Century East Asia:

"Day after day we ate watery gruel in the cottage of the farmhouse to which we had been evacuated. Things got even worse, and our daily chore was to gather field grasses. One day, I came across a book of Western cooking among the few remaining items on the bookshelf. I turned the pages to shiny photographs of roast beef, Spanish omelets, Scotch eggs. It became my secret pastime to stare at the beautifully taken photos and read the book over and over. I didn’t care what the outcome of the war might be. I swore in my heart that when the war was over, I would eat all these dishes. Looking back on that time now, I smile ruefully that I was a hungry maiden with a big appetite" (Food and War in Mid-Twentieth Century East Asia, 136-137).

The Japanese faced a power vacuum subsequent to their defeat in The Pacific War, which was further confused by the U.S.’ occupation. The U.S. originally sought to democratize Japan and progressively decrease the intervention of American troops overtime. Instead, they chose to engage in the reverse course, which made the Japanese pliable to American headship in foreign trade and other affairs (Modern Japanese Cuisine, 156). The U.S. eventually hoped to convert Japan into a subsidiary, capitalist nation (Modern Japanese Cuisine, 156). The U.S. authorities maintained sanctions against outdoor food vending and sustained the Japanese’ war-imposed food rationing system. Unfortunately, the Japanese and U.S. authorities were unable to properly regulate trade, monitor production, and allocate food nationwide. A general decrease in global food production in 1945 and 1946 further contributed to this problem. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 5-6)

The rations limited the average adult to 1,042 calories per day, which only constituted about 65% of the minimum caloric intake deemed necessary for basic survival. In addition to this problem, rations were rarely delivered on a regular basis. In some cases, such as in Tokyo and Yokohama in 1946, rations were even cancelled. To put this dilemma in a greater context, the average Tokyoite acquired only 70% of their allocated rations, which provided them with about 775 calories per day for six months in 1946 (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 7)

U.S. Wheat Donations

During the Occupation, the Communist Party took advantage of the hunger crisis by blaming the famine on the U.S.’ maladministration in Japan. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 8-10)

To prevent the formation of a Communist Asia, the U.S. sent grain and troops to foil pro-communist protests. The Koreans, in the midst of famine themselves, raised similar complaints against their government. To avoid a communist Asia, the U.S. engaged in the reverse course by dividing foodstuffs between those two countries, sometimes limiting aid in Japan to provide for a more restive Korea. In 1946, U.S. General MacArthur, who dictated matters in Japan, Korea, and all other American occupied areas in the Far East, sent a cable to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the cable, MacArthur said:

“I am considering authorizing an immediate diversion from allocation of wheat to Japan of a token shipment of twenty-five thousand tons to Korea to alleviate a serious psychological and political crisis wherein adverse leftist elements are capitalizing on present food shortage. I am convinced that failure to provide this token shipment at once will constitute a serious threat to United States Military Government in Korea.”

(George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 8-10)

School Lunches

In 1947, U.S. authorities established school lunch programs in Japan to provide nutrition for children in larger cities affected by the food crisis. As a result, American charities and religious organizations developed the Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia (LARA) to dispense food, clothing, and other forms of assistance to Japan. (Modern Japanese Cuisine, 157-159)

The school lunch programs were extended nationwide in Japan in 1951, with the intention of allotting 600 kilocalories and 25 grams of protein for each student. The lunches included a main course (usually warm) with a bread roll and glass of milk. The bread surprisingly was not donated because of its health benefits, but because Americans wanted to divest excess wheat to foreign markets to increase profits. Meanwhile, the milk was chosen for its ability to quickly bolster underfed children (Modern Japanese Cuisine, 156-161)

The Black Market System

People took advantage of the hunger crisis by selling goods that were limited under the rationing system. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 5)

Criminal gang members in particular engaged in the market. Many bartered ramen, which they acquired a decent supply of from the U.S.’ increased wheat exports. Ironically, ramen was inspired by the Chinese noodle soup Chuka Soba. This food product was crucial during the famine, since its noodles were filling and high in calories. These noodles were a perfect food for the famine, since they were healthy and high in calories.

The U.S. authorities tacitly overlooked the black market system by overpassing large supplier. Interestingly, George Solt, author of The Untold History of Ramen: How Political Crisis in Japan Spawned a Global Food Craze, raises the possibility that the police and government elites received a portion of the profits from the illegal food trade, explaining their indirect acceptance of the Black Market. This point supports evidence that corrupt officials contributed goods to this trade. However, Solt asserts that the government gave the appearance of opposing the Black Market by cracking down on individual vendors and consumers. Historian John Dower claims that 1.22 million average men and women were jailed for acquiring goods from the black market in 1946. This number escalated to 1.36 million in 1947, only to 1.5 million in 1948. (George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 2-4)

Food Culture after the Occupation Period

The food amusement park the Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Museum was established in the Shin-Yokohama district of Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama, Japan in 1994 and is largely dedicated to ramen (Wikipedia page: Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Museum). However, George Solt conveys that this monument has overstated the Japanese returnees’ part in commercializing Chuka soba, while ignoring the Korean and Chinese laborers in Japan that vended Chuka Soba on the Black Market. More significantly, the museum disregards Chuka Soba as a Chinese creation, treating it as a Japanese specialty. (George Solt, Untold History of Ramen, 22-25)

Ramen was also mentioned widely in films, radio, music, and television shows post-occupation. In the 1954 film, Bangiku (which later became known as Late Chrysanthemums) the daughter wants to take her mother to a ramen restaurant to celebrate the former’s wedding engagement. While the daughter happily eats the ramen, the mother is horrified, as she thinks back to the days when ramen was eaten exclusively to ward off hunger. The idea of eating it in prosperous times mortifies her, a theme that is found in poems and music from this period, which were recited on the radio. (George Solt, Untold History of Ramen, 22-25)

One such poem (translated from Japanese) goes:

Rāmen bakkari                                                          Eating nothing but ramen on a date.

Kutteru de’eto. With an empty wallet, yesterday and today.

Gamaguchi sabishi’                                                     The tryst was most disappointing.

Kinō kyō. Aibiki mo wabishi’I mono datta.

(George Solt, The Untold History of Ramen, 23)