Hyourougan are so - called "hunger pills" in use by the famed Shinobi of ancient Japan. They are actually a military ration for scouts and spies, half power bar and half medication. It is fascinating, because as soon as you manage to leave behind the prejudiced Western view of "Ninja" throwing Shuriken all over the place, a whole world opens up, a lifestyle even, that has to offer a lot for modern day bushcrafters and outdoorspeople. In fact, a lot of the stuff we do is actually quite similar to the Shinobi lore.
Let me put something straight first, though. I have, while I have received a tiny bit of training in Bujinkan art long ago (three weeks immersion all in), I am not even a beginner in the art, and I do not make any such claims. I have never received any formal training. Recently a Sensei told me that my lifestyle were similar and that I were on the right track with my mindset. This was an honour, that I want to live up to, but he also told me that I am a bit fat and clumsy. And he was right, of course. I am not a Shinobi and I do not want to make such a claim.
Next thing I have to put into perspective is that these Hyourougan are not cookies. They are an emergency food. There are a lot of different recipes from different schools of Nindo, and this is an educated guess at best, and we modified it according to our understanding, which is based upon more than a decade of learning and transdisciplinary scientific research, but as of today can only be limited.
Our version of Hyourougan is rather strong and if you take blood thinning medication or have cardic or cardiovascular problems whatsoever, please consult a doctor beforehand. We would you would rather obstain from eating these altogether. We disclaim all liability, and for the same reason we will not offer you precise measurements. Also, the recipe makes for an aphrodisiac, and we also disclaim all liability for any adverse effects caused by this either. Actually I tell you a story for entertainment purposes, or at least I would like you to see it that way.
That said, it has been quite a journey. I first heard of this food in 1990 and have been fascinated ever since. I dismissed it as a myth and an exaggeration for years, because, well, while I love a good story, the world is full of supposedly top secret martial arts manuals and self-proclaimed masters who learned their art from the last descendant of the family in a hermit's cave near the mountains of Shambhála. But in the early 2000s, I heard of the Bansenshukai, and while it is disputed whether or not it is a fiction, in that case it is an informed one and serves a good purpose in that it can help to question one or the other prejudiced view of the "Ninja". It was there that I first heard of Hyourougan.
Actually the concept of a food like that, easily transported and high in calories and maybe medicinal properties, is pretty commonplace. From the 1700s hardtack to modern energy bars, from Tolkien 's Cram and Lembas to German "Lebkuchen" and "Panhas", from Black Pudding to Native Turtle Island Pemmiigáan (I hope I got that right) to modern political food substitutes, the examples are legion. I spent years in academic libraries to find out more about it, and I do not regret one minute of all the work. And do not get me wrong - I still have not seen one tenth of it.
It was with the advent of the Internet and academical online catalogues that I got that bug bad again and realized those "hunger pills" were for real, and that there are several recipes around. Actually I must admit that learning Japanese, as I first intended to in order to be able to read the originals, turned out somewhat of a bummer, because I really had to struggle on top of all the other struggles. Cudos to the magic troll, by the way, who has been at my side all these years and has always supported my weirdness. I sincerely hope that this is mutual. I hope that I live up to the respect and love.
Actually, not being able to read Japanese lead to us having to heavily rely on secondary sources, and so we had to evaluate the information with our knowledge of plants and their chemistry. Since we do not need to write a literary evaluation or essay, but the whole point was recreating the food in the first, we took several original recipes in order to understand the principle of it. Yes, that is a rather alchemist approach, but well, you are reading the rumblings of the madman Fimbulmyrk in the first. ☺️
By doing this, we identified the principle of these rations as follows : Compact, light to carry, very sustaining, and invigorating. This in turn led to an assumption of the following nutrients :Carbohydrates, Proteins, Vitamins, Minerals and contents with antiinflammatory and regenerative properties.
So, I guess you heard enough mumbo-jumbo for now and are maybe stoked to learn what is in that green goo. ☺️
The base is a mixture of glutinous and Yasmin rice, a lot of nettle seeds, a lot of ginger, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, green tea (Matcha), a sensible lot of Taiga Ginseng, finely ground, mixed with Sake, sesame oil and paste, peanut butter and honey.
Actually it is important not to overheat the mass, so we just rolled some balls and cookies from it, which we dried at 50°Celsius in the oven for two hours.
The Japanese sources counsil to take three cookies per day to keep you going in an emergency.
I tried them, of course, and I found it important to drink enough water with them. Both the Ginseng, the nettle seeds, ginger and turmeric have diuretic properties, so it is important to drink enough water.
Plus, the ingredients stimulate your sexual energy, if you so will. It is taught in several schools of Meditation how to transform this energy into "power". If you are not capable of doing this consciously (which I can), you will not be able to use the food to its full potential but just be left more or less horny. Also, if you are a woman, it will not work that way. Nettle seeds are then only highly nutritional for you. If you want to try this, you would have to add about double the amount of, say, seeds of the wild carrot. Also no suggestion, by the way, and mentioned exclusively for entertainment purposes.
The Shinobi also carried a sort of candy, named Suikatsugan, in order to suppress thirst, which might be necessary if you have no water, because the Hyourougan can make you a bit thirsty.
The next experiment will be making a milder version of Hyourougan, and after that we will try out some Suikatsugan. ☺️
Watch this space!
You can also give our Instagram Account a visit in order to get some Info on new experiments, which will be published here.
It is Acweorna_Craft.
Thank you for your patience and your visit! ❤️
