The Formation of the “Total Mobilization of Food” Ideology in Interwar Japan: Focusing on the Discourses of Personnel from Rikugun Ryōmatsu-shō

This study examines how, after World War I, personnel of the Rikugun Ryōmatsu-shō (Army Provisions Depot) sought to reframe military-civilian relations through food. Tasked with transporting, procuring, storing, and researching military rations, the Ryōmatsu-shō aimed not only to fulfill provisioning duties but also to spread food knowledge and rational consumption. These efforts responded to Japan’s urbanization, population growth, and food supply imbalances, which pushed military food policy into civilian life. In this context, Marumoto Shōzō and Satō Kinji promoted food as a public concern through exhibitions, lectures, and publications. Marumoto, inspired by American models of voluntary restraint and civic food conservation, emphasized peacetime food education to encourage citizen participation. Satō focused on improving soldiers’ diets and emphasized the need for civilian provisioning research to prepare for potential import disruptions. By analyzing their discourse, this study shows how food was seen not only as a matter of military efficiency but also as part of everyday life. It highlights how ryōmatsu personnel envisioned food as a medium linking total mobilization with practical civic engagement.