Emergency Rations

Katayaki – hard-baked rice crackers

These hard-backed crackers were made from ingredients such as brown rice flour, and they are so hard that people nowadays find them practically inedible. These rice crackers have to be broken up using a mallet, and they remain a well-known specialty of the town of Iga. If you’ve become too used to eating just soft foods, then you should give them a try.

katayaki
[Katayaki]

Sunflower seeds help keep up your strength

Sunflower seeds are highly nutritious, and contain organic acids such as linoleic and amino acid. Being small and light, nuts and seeds were ideal for the ninja to carry around. The excellent oil content also helps maintain physical strength.

himawari
[Sunflower seeds]

A sour experience? Umeboshi

Umeboshi, or pickled plums, remain a highly popular alkaline food, and you may have noticed that they are an ever-present feature of meals in Japan.

They were also one of the ninja’s most essential foods. They are made by washing ripened Japanese plums, pickling in salt for two to three days to remove the water, and then drying in the sun. At sunset they are put back in brine and the process repeated several times until there is no more brine left and the plums are dry. As umeboshi helped counteract poison, had sterilizing properties and prevented fatigue, they were ideal for the hard way of life of the ninja.

umeboshi
[Diet Umeboshi]