as big as a washboard...Big and ThickBecause it wasIt is commonly said that those washboards, popular among the Navy, were Mamiya's youkan...However.Yes...GlareShakeShakeNooope, that's a secret.Dammit! Tell me! Why else would you be reborn as a shipgirl!?Let us eat it!It's on the secret menu, isn't it!?ShakeShakeI asked Twitter what they thought, and suggestions included rusk, youkan castella, honeycomb toffee, youkan bread, waffles, hardtack, etc. Now just what is the right answer...?Snacks known as washboards and youkan made purely of hardened bean paste were popular.
- Ogura Tatsurou (Major, Engineering), Record of a Shipbuilding Officer, Memories of the Akashi Engineering DivisionThe important ones were youkan, monaka, a breaded pastry (commonly known as washboards), ice cream (made without egg to avoid food poisoning), konjac, and tofu (two tons a day).
- Sema Takashi (Paymaster), A History of the Diet of the Japanese NavyOur Combined Fleet's sailors, especially the rank and file, loved our "Mamiya youkan" more than even the top-quality youkan from the prestigious Toraya Confectionery. As a result, the sweet they called washboards was overwhelmingly popular.
- Fukui Shizuo (Major, Technical), The Story of Japan's Auxillary FleetSome sources...clearly describe it as the different thing from youkan.The mystery food that was so popular as Mamiya's youkan!
You know the truth behind the washboard, don't you!? Now tell us!!There was a ration they called the washboard.
