After the war, the United States helped establish the ideals and institutions of democracy in Japan. Under democracy, His Majesty the Emperor—who had been regarded as a living god—issued the Declaration of Humanity, and the people regained their sovereignty. However, the civilian population continued to grapple with the lingering effects of the war, particularly the persistent issue of food insecurity. The Japanese term for "democracy" is "demokurasi." At the time, members of the general public deliberately mispronounced the term "demokurusi" in an attempt to elevate their spirits. "Demokurusi" in Japanese means “But It’s Hard to live”.
One day around lunchtime during that period, my mother called out, “Lunch’s ready.” I sat down at the table as if I’d been waiting for it, only to find that the plate in front of me held not rice, but dull green peas. My mother explained that when she opened a can distributed by the U.S. military, that’s what was inside. “Since this helps us stave off hunger, you should thank the Americans,” my mother told me. She then proceeded to bow her head, saying, "Thank you, America." I was hungry, so I couldn’t be picky. When I scooped some up with a spoon and tasted it, it was completely bland. Still, it filled my stomach. In addition to this, there were various other canned goods from the U.S. military, such as peanuts and canned salmon. The peanuts were salted and coated with sugar, and they were quite tasty. Unfortunately, there was no canned rice.
However, we did receive rice rations from the government. That said, the quantities were small, and it was a truly precious commodity. As a result, green peas were often mixed in with our rice. Rather than being mixed in, the reality was that the rice was clinging to the green peas, and because of these green peas, the flavor of our hard-earned rice was ruined. Even now, the sight of green peas brings back that bitter resentment I felt back then. Green peas weren’t the only thing often mixed into our rice. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and daikon radish were cut into thin strips and added, and as usual, the rice was merely clinging to them. Sometimes, rice mixed with daikon radish produced truly miserable results. In the immediate postwar period, there was no school lunch program, so all the children brought packed lunches to school. Occasionally, these lunches would be packed with daikon radish rice. The rice was very watery, and eating it for lunch on a cold winter day would chill me to the bone, making my whole body shiver uncontrollably.
Sweet potatoes were a common substitute for rice. Just as they are still enjoyed as roasted sweet potatoes in this age of plenty, they were highly prized back then as well. There were various types, but they could be broadly divided into two categories: large, round ones with yellow flesh, and slender ones with white flesh. I believe we steamed them rather than baked them back then. In addition to these, we ate just about anything as a substitute for rice, such as potatoes, taro, and pumpkin. Pumpkin, in particular, was similar to sweet potatoes in its sweetness and was a precious treat. Occasionally, we were able to get our hands on barley. Since it resembled rice in shape, it was very welcome. I remember that we boiled it rather than steaming it and ate it loose and fluffy.
Some time after the war, sweet, cake-like confections began to appear on the market. While visually appealing, the texture of the candies proved to be somewhat unpleasant, reminiscent of the sensation of placing a candle in the mouth. This reaction was frequently observed, often resulting in the involuntary expulsion of the candies from the oral cavity. I still haven’t forgotten the sense of disappointment I felt at that time.
Amid these food shortages, the canned goods provided by the U.S. military—as mentioned at the beginning—were truly precious. Japan currently finds itself in a complex international situation and is said to be the United States’ closest ally in the world. It seems that at the root of this lies a pro-American sentiment deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Japanese people. Looking back, I feel that one factor behind this pro-American sentiment among the Japanese people lies in the rations distributed by the U.S. military, which extended a helping hand to postwar Japan—a nation where people had even starved to death. It is often posited that "resentment over food is a terrible thing," yet the converse may also be valid. The decision by U.S. leaders to distribute canned goods to the Japanese people during those “hard times” may have been motivated by humanitarian considerations, but it can also be seen as a truly astute occupation policy.
