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Biscuits advertisement, 1940.
of Ship’s Biscuits Manufacturers was formed in 1932, propelled by the
Manchurian Incident (1931) that marked the starting point of Japan’s
direct military confrontation with China.
Kanpan had been the staple in the Japanese armed forces for decades,
but before 1937 remained largely unknown to civilian consumers. Approximately
90 per cent of total biscuit production in Japan at the time was
constituted by products other than kanpan. By 1944 the ratio was reversed:
kanpan constituted 96 per cent (36,000 out of the total of 37,000 tonnes) of
all biscuits manufactured in Japan that year. 29 The new product was widely
advertised, often carrying patriotic texts that called for solidarity with the
soldiers at the front:
In order to let one soldier fight at the battlefield hands of eight
people are required at the home front. The amount of food they
need is enormous. Saving and storing rice – our staple – has
become the necessity. Using foods made of flour as a substitute
for rice can make a difference. Once we learned that kanpan next
to being a staple of the front is also a defence food guaranteeing
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