Polished rice used to be considered a feast common people dreamed of, while barley rice was looked down on as the food of the poor, and such thoughts could not be ignored, besides, most troop leaders wanted to give their soldiers the treat of polished rice before leaving for the front where they might be killed.
白米飯は庶民あこがれのご馳走であり、麦飯は貧民の食事として蔑まれていた世情を無視できず、また部隊長の多くも死地に行かせる兵士に白米を食べさせたいという心情があった。