Have you ever heard of the 'Sakuma drops'? I know that's so random, or maybe I ran out of things to blog about. I realize all my entries are mostly rantings nowadays. Loled.
According to Wikipedia:
Sakuma Drops (サクマ式ドロップス Sakuma-shiki Doroppusu) are a hard candy from Japan. They are flavored with real fruit juice and are made by Sakuma Candy Co. based in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The candies are not as popular as they were in the past, but they are an easily recognizable icon in Japan as they have been available since the Meiji period. The candies are sold in 4-by-3.5 inch tin cans with a tin pull cap. Sakuma tins are collectible items, as the design frequently changes.
And here's my first can of sakuma drops!
What I learned from the internet was this green can is the 'normal edition'.
Well, the first time I ever had this candy was when Lucas had a can in his bag. I was immediately hooked by the design of the can. The one he had was the red colored can. But never had I thought that the candy itself had such a long history.
It was even featured in a Studio Gibhli 1988 animation titled Hotaru no haka (Grave of Fireflies). I watched it, and I will never be able to look at Sakuma Drops the same way ever again. It's undeniably the saddest movie I had ever watched.
Seita and Setsuko
The film speaks of Seita and Setsuko, a pair of siblings living/surviving the end of World War II. It's a saddening story of how harsh life can be during wartimes.
The film begins with Seita dressed only in rags, dying of starvation. All he was holding on was a can of Sakuma drops can. After given up his last breath, he drop the can. A janitor picks it up, looking for anything valuable. He toss what seems to be a worthless candy can out. The can's cover breaks open and sprung out the ash and bones of Setsuko. But that was not all. Also coming out of it was a cloud of red fireflies, and Setsuko's spirit.
Upon seeing her brother Seita's lifeless body lying on the floor unattended, Setsuko was about to run towards him, only to be stopped by Seita's spirit, now dressed handsomely.
Seita and Setsuko's spirit then travel back to the place they belong: Kobe. As they travel, they are seen to face their own flashbacks. They were the children of an Imperial Navy sailor. During the Kobe bombing, they lost their mother. It was then an empty Sakuma drops can in Setsuko's possession was used to store their mother's jewelries.
They rely on their aunt for a while, until their only relative left begins to think of the two of them as a burden. Seita decided that they can live on their own, converting a shelter into their home. But living on their own was a grave mistake that Seita made.
Seita had to steal and trade in order to get food, but it was never enough. Unable to get enough food for the two of them, Setsuko begins to suffer from malnutrition and eventually dies from it. Before dying, Setsuko was sucking their mother's jewelries from the candy can due to hallucination. She also ingested the 'rice balls' she made out of mud.
Seita cremated his sister with sorrow. He store her ash in the candy can and never went back to the shelter ever again. The film end with the pair of siblings sitting beside each other, watching over modern Kobe cityscape nightview.
Seita trying to get the candy out of the can when Setsuko cries... *Cute*
The way I see it, at least they're still reconnected at death. This is a film you should never miss. It's a masterpiece. My review? I give it a 5/5.
loving both of it: sakuma drops / hotaru no haka,
jin
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