Crew members aboard the navy vessel Hashidate enjoy their regular curry while docked at Yokosuka, a naval base south of Tokyo. The sailors know what's for lunch long before the aromas escape from the galley. Chef Yosuke Oyama has been up since dawn, softening onions and stirring a pot of chicken stock that has been simmering for hours. He slices carrots and potatoes, places strips of beef on a tray, and checks other ingredients: spices, apple puree, ginger, garlic, and a red wine and honey reduction for extra umami.
After a chorus of 'Itadakimasu' – bon appétit – the mess deck falls silent except for appreciative noises from the ravenous men and women of Japan's maritime Self-Defence Forces (SDF). Oyama, a navy chef for three decades accustomed to cooking for up to 500 sailors, jokes that the crew love hamburgers, steak, sushi, and ramen – 'they eat a lot like children' – but curry is always a winner. With each spoonful, they uphold a tradition of eating curry for lunch every Friday, once a way to track time on long voyages, and keep rival SDF vessels around Japan on their culinary toes as they search for the perfect recipe.
Despite its south Asian origins, curry is Japan's de facto national dish: a soupy, mild version beloved of schoolchildren, office workers, and generations of SDF personnel for whom kaigun kare – navy curry – is a source of fierce pride and sustenance. The 10 crew members aboard Hashidate, a special services vessel hosting international VIPs anchored in Yokosuka, are among thousands of sailors eating their ship's version of the same dish. Oyama says variety is key, mixing things up with keema or seafood curry, or serving leftover sauce with udon noodles the next day. He recently fried apple puree and added it to the curry, finding it delicious.
Tradition dictates that Yokosuka curry – one of many navy curry variations – must be accompanied by salad, pickles, and a glass of milk for nutritional balance. As Japan expanded its influence in Asia in the late 1800s, many soldiers fell ill from beriberi, a vitamin B1 deficiency linked to their plain white rice diet. The solution came in the form of curry powder, thought to have been introduced by Anglo-Indian officers in the Royal Navy who were among the first westerners to contact Japan after Commodore Perry's 'black ships' forced an end to centuries of sakoku isolation in the 1850s.
Curry powder contained enough vitamin B1 to keep soldiers and sailors healthy. Beriberi cases plummeted, and military personnel developed a taste for anglicised curry and rice, made with meat, vegetables, and a flour-thickened sauce that was less likely to splash in rough seas. A more romantic explanation claims that British sailors shipwrecked off Japan's coast came ashore with curry powder rations. Curry quickly gained civilian fans. The first Japanese recipe for curry was published in 1872, and restaurants began serving it five years later, according to food writer Makiko Itoh. In 1908, a recipe appeared in the Navy Cooking Reference Book.
When the present-day maritime SDF was formed in 1954, the tradition continued, spurring rival bases to create their own recipes and claim the title of Japan's best navy curry. Together, Japan's sailors consume 45 tonnes of curry per year – equivalent to 2.25 million meals. Sailors in Maizuru and Kure may disagree, but Yokosuka has a strong case for being the navy curry capital. Its seagull mascot, Sucurry, greets visitors at the main railway station with a bowl of the signature dish. At Yokosuka Navy Curry Honpo, diners can eat kaigun kare made according to the 1908 recipe and take home boil-in-the-bag versions. The city's annual curry festival in May attracts tens of thousands of visitors eager to sample dozens of recipes.
However, the dish has landed some fans in hot water. In 2022, six Japanese sailors were suspended after helping themselves to curry without paying for up to three years at an SDF base. As visiting personnel, they were not entitled to gratis servings. The previous year, curry was at the centre of diplomatic tensions after media reported on a seafood curry sold in Japan with mounds of rice shaped to resemble the uninhabited Takeshima islands, administered by Japan but claimed by South Korea as Dokdo. Aboard Hashidate, First Lieutenant Yosuke Ohtsuki admits he rarely eats curry at home, noting that some families wait until the sailor is away on a voyage before eating curry. 'If it's Friday we know it's going to be a good day.' Their bowls empty, the sailors clear up and prepare for an upcoming voyage. 'I never tire of eating curry,' says Chief of Operations Hideaki Ito. 'In fact, if I don't eat curry it messes around with my body clock.'
