White Rice, Numb Legs: A Soldier's Memories (Russo-Japanese War, 1905-38)

White Rice, Numb Legs: A Soldier's Memories (Russo-Japanese War, 1905-38)

During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), soldiers in the army were supplied with polished white rice as their staple food. With the advancement of rice-polishing technology, pure white rice was considered hygienic and luxurious, and was welcomed by many soldiers, but it soon became a serious health hazard. Many soldiers developed beriberi, numbness in the legs, difficulty walking, and in serious cases, death from heart failure.

In response, one army, under the guidance of a military doctor who practiced modern nutritional management, promoted dietary reforms that included barley rice and other ingredients, which greatly reduced the incidence of beriberi. On the other hand, in another army, the highest-ranking military physician at the time supported the theory that beriberi was a bacterial infection and denied any relationship to nutritional deficiencies, so the introduction of barley rice was not implemented.

As a result, it has been pointed out that the number of deaths due to beriberi was higher than those due to war deaths. For example, the number of deaths due to beriberi during the war was estimated at about 27,000, which was more than half of the total number of deaths in battle (about 47,000). Some soldiers were said to have said, "If I die from bullets, I would love to die, but to die from eating rice is frustrating.