How Imperial Japan turned to the sardine to help build a war machine
Dynamite made from fish oil was one weapon deployed by an assertive Japan in the early 20th century
In the early 20th century, Imperial Japan found a unique source of wealth to fuel its military and industrial growth: the humble sardine. Known as "iwashi" in Japan, these small fish were more than just a dietary staple. Beginning in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan embarked on a modernization and imperial expansion campaign.
Sardines played a crucial role in this transformation, with their high-fat content processed into fish oil, a valuable raw material for the empire's chemical industry. Initially, sardine oil was exported to Europe for use in manufacturing nitroglycerin, the key ingredient in dynamite. However, Japan began using its own sardine oil to produce military weapons, necessitating the expansion of its territorial control.
The annexation of Korea in 1910 was a significant milestone, as the region's rich sardine resources became vital to Japan's military ambitions. By 1931, Imperial Japan had become the world's largest harvester of sardines, with a catch accounting for nearly half of the global total. This dominance in sardine fishing allowed Japan to weaponize the fish, turning Korea into the hub for producing sardine-derived dynamite.
As the weaponization of sardines progressed, the fish were no longer considered the "people's fish," but rather the "militarized fish." However, this unique wartime resource did not last, with Imperial Japan's sardine catch declining dramatically during the early 1940s.
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