“They cook our digestion the European way, but it comes out...” . Culinary impressions of prisoners of the Russian army during their stay in Japanese captivity (1904-1905).

Abstract

During the Russo-Japanese War, about 70,000 prisoners of war were taken into Japanese captivity. The Japanese tried to treat them very well. This also applied to food. The prisoners of war ate no worse than the Japanese soldiers fighting at the front. In addition, efforts were made to prepare food similar to the homeland menu. However, different culinary traditions, lack of suitable products and tools, and insufficient skills of cooks meant that the results of these efforts were not always as expected.