This is sort of a direct copy of my question on Gunboards, so my apologies if you’re seeing this again. I’m looking for information on how the standard ration changed for the average Japanese infantryman as the war progressed. I remember when reading A Tomb Called Iwo Jima, one of the mutual experiences among the Japanese they interviewed was the scarcity of food, and how one of them was extremely upset that as time went on the transport ships brought less and less food, until they didn’t come at all and they had to resort to stealing from the Americans.

Has anybody here looked into it much? I would be interested to know how portions and variety changed. My research so far has shown me the composition of the rations up to mid-war, but not much beyond that. As a side note, I highly recommend that book.

Am I right in assuming that the food shortages would result in smaller portions being issued?