Japanese candy Sakuma's Drops to be discontinued; netizens share fond memories of the iconic sweet

TOKYO — Sakumaseika Co, a Tokyo-based candy company best known for its iconic Sakuma's Drops, has decided to shutter its doors on January 20 next year.

Sakuma's Drops produced by Sakumaseika Co are displayed at a snacks store Niki no Kashi in Tokyo on Nov 9, 2022.

TOKYO, JAPAN — Sakumaseika Co, a Tokyo-based candy company best known for its iconic Sakuma's Drops that was featured in hit anime film Grave of the Fireflies, has decided to shutter its doors on Jan 20 next year.

The company said on Wednesday (Nov 8) that despite rising production costs, a labour shortage and a drop in sales, it had not raised the price of its trademark hard candy in years. The spread of Covid-19 and more price surges only deepened the financial woes of the 114-year-old company.

As a result, Sakumaseika recorded a net loss of more than 151 million yen (S$1.4 million) in the fiscal year that ended September 2021, reported Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The company itself will remain operational to take care of payments and other tasks not relating to the production or sale of candies.

Since the news broke, Japanese netizens have been mourning the loss of the beloved Sakuma's Drops candy eaten by generations, sharing fond memories of it and even flocking to nearby candy stores to grab a tin.

"When I was a kid, Sakuma's Drops was something I longed for," reminisced one Twitter user in Japanese. "It took a long time for me to buy it, and I vividly remember the smell when I finally picked it up and opened the round lid."

Many remembered not liking the white peppermint flavour and would not touch it. They recalled either being chided by their parents or ending up with only the peppermint flavour in the tin.

For others, their favourite part was "the sound of the candy hitting the can when it was shaken".

"It's sad that I can't hear it anymore," they said.

Some also referenced the tragic Grave of the Fireflies animation, which had once been featured in special packaging by Sakumaseika.

One user remarked: "Seeing this reminds me of Grave of the Fireflies and makes me cry!"

"That must be why it went out of business," another mused. "(We are) too sad to eat it."

After the creation of Sakuma's Drops in 1908, Sakumaseika continued to produce the candy through the air raids of World War II.

This inspired anime giant Studio Ghibli to immortalise it in its 1988 film about two orphaned children struggling to survive in the aftermath of a World War II bombing, with one of them carrying a red can of Sakuma's Drops — one of the siblings' few possessions after their house is destroyed.

The red tin plays a key role in the film, which also popularised a common hack summed up by one Twitter user: "When I ran out of candies when I was a kid, I put water in the can and let it rinse well, then drank the water inside."

Still, for those who enjoy the candy above all else, it's not the end of the line.

Though many have confused the two, the similarly-named Sakuma Confectionery Co (or Sakuma Seika in Japanese) is a separate company which branched off from Sakumaseika after the war.

Sakuma Confectionery is still in business and will continue to produce its own Sakuma Drops, which come in a green tin instead of red.