The Importance of the Sakuma Drops Candy in Grave of the Fireflies

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Studio Ghibli’sGrave of the Fireflies, which is based on the semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, was released in 1988 and has since become a timeless classic. The film, directed by Isao Takahata, follows the tragic story of Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, who must learn to survive the harsh realities of war after their house is destroyed in a firebombing raid.

From the outset of Grave of the Fireflies, the Sakuma Drops, which Setsuko preciously carries, have such character and significance that they almost become a third protagonist within the film. While the meaning behind these sweets is never directly explained, they can be linked to the film's historical context along with its themes of innocence, childhood, and even death. With the candy's use in the film making Sakuma Drops iconic, its emotional impact has been cemented in the minds of viewers to this day.

Updated on October 13, 2024 by Lauren Younkin: Even now, Grave of the Fireflies continues to be one of the most beloved films in Studio Ghibli's catalog. Each viewing allows the audience to interpret the story in different ways. As such, this article has been updated to further analyze the impact of the film and to comply with CBR's current formatting standards.

Nearly 40 years later, Studio Ghibli's Grave of the Fireflies remains one of the most beautifully animated and harrowing war dramas of all time.

Sakuma Drops are a type of Japanese hard candy made using real fruit juice. They were first developed by Sojiro Sakuma, a Japanese-style confectioner living in Tokyo. By 1908 (during the Meiji era), the Sakuma Candy Company would be formed and the sweets, with their distinctive tin-can packaging and unconventional taste, would take Japan by storm. While the candy’s eight flavors (grape, apple, lemon, strawberry, pineapple, Japanese peppermint, chocolate, and orange) have largely remained the same over the last 100 years, its packaging has been altered frequently, making the now-iconic tins a highly collectible item.

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The company has also gone through multiple transitions since its inception. When the Pacific War began in 1941, it became increasingly difficult for Japanese companies to access foreign products. By the following year, The Food Management Law was enacted, which instituted a national food rationing system for all Japanese citizens. This made sugar a luxury item that was nearly impossible to obtain through legal channels unless it was provided by a person's employer.

Ultimately, these challenges, along with the company’s factory being destroyed in a bombing raid, led to its closure in 1945. The company would be restored shortly after the war by Nobunosuke Yokokura, a businessman born in Tama who previously had a deep relationship with the company before it was dissolved. Sadly, in 2022, the company Sakumaseika announced that they would be shutting down after 114 years, citing lack of demand, labor shortages, rising energy costs, and ingredient prices as the cause for their bankruptcy.

Whenever the word 'candy' is mentioned, it can evoke a variety of different feelings, from the joy it infuses in everyday moments to happy memories from childhood. They are often given by parents on special occasions, as a reward for being good, or simply because they care. It's easy in today's world to take for granted the ease of access people have to candy and sugar in general. The children in Grave of the Fireflies don't share in this privilege.

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For Setsuko, Sakuma Drops offer some respite from the world around her. She has been plunged into the darkness of war, which has led to her mother’s death, the family home being destroyed, and becoming unwanted by her relatives. Unsurprisingly, this is a lot for a child of four to both intellectually and mentally process. Regardless of whether Setsuko has a tantrum or is well-behaved, she is rewarded by Seita with one of the candies from her tin. While a sweet may not offer a solution to the desperate situation she is facing, it provides a moment of relief where she can savor something pure and innocent.

As much as the Sakuma Drops are a symbol of hope for the film’s protagonists, they're also one of hopelessness. As the story progresses, the tin of candies empties, and with each sweet that's eaten, the characters descend further into despair. Although Setsuko realizes that she must ration her supply if she wishes to continue having her momentary escapes of happiness, it is inevitable that they will eventually all be gone. When the sweets have been finished, Seita uses the tin to create sweet-flavored water that he offers to his sister. This would be Setsuko’s last taste of happiness, as shortly after this scene, they are thrust out into the streets of Kobe to fend for themselves.

Upon Setsuko’s death, Seita places her body into a casket along with her possessions. Initially he rests the tin next to his sister, but then he pauses and picks it back up. For a while, Seita gazes at the now rusted tin and eventually decides to keep it. After cremating Setsuko, Seita uses it as a means of holding her ashes, replacing the sweets that she once loved. This is a brutal reminder that our time on this planet isn't forever. Like the candy Setsuko enjoyed, there is only so much of it — eventually, it must run out. However, Grave of the Fireflies does manage to end on somewhat of a happy note if the viewer remembers the start of the film.

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Seita also eventually succumbs to the hunger that claimed Setsuko's life. After his body is searched and Setsuko’s ashes are thrown into the grasslands by a patrolling officer, the two siblings are finally reunited. In that moment, the Sakuma Drops are restored to their former glory, highlighting that hope has returned. Both Seita and Setsuko are now at peace and no longer need to suffer from the harsh world they were living in.

As the film comes to a close, their souls overlook the modern metropolis of Japan, indicating that they are now timeless and able to see their country restored. Not only have these characters been able to regain their dignity, but so has Japan after the war ended. It’s a sign of hope that one of the darkest chapters in the country's history has come to a close, and that its citizens will never again have to face the horrors that these characters experienced.

After Grave of the Fireflies, Sakuma Drops saw a spike in popularity. As a result, a few editions of the candy have been made with Setsuko's image printed on the tin. While it has become common practice to include anime characters in product design, using Setsuko for marketing seems almost unintentionally cruel given that the tin became her final resting place. On the other hand, it could also be seen as fitting that Setsuko's legacy is now memorialized by something that made her happy.

With the closure of Sakumaseika, the Sakuma Drops in the iconic red tins have discontinued production. The only way to potentially obtain them now is through resales of the limited remaining stock online, leading people to ration this product much in the same way that Setsuko did in Grave of the Fireflies. In an ironic twist of fate, these Sakuma Drops met their ultimate end during peacetime, despite surviving through the war.

However, not all hope is lost for fans of the candy. The company actually split into two branches with different management following their post-war revival, and Sakuma Confectionary is still making Sakuma Drops to this day. This version of the candy uses a green tin rather than the red one from the film, but it keeps Sakuma Drops alive regardless. In this way, Sakuma Drops still represent hope and despair even within the real world as one form of the candy died (the red tin) but the other lived (the green tin), mirroring the fate of both the characters and the country of Japan at the end of the film. Such a wild coincidence means that this symbolism continues to be entrenched with Sakuma Drops long after Grave of the Fireflies' release.

A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

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