the “Sakuma Drops” candy factory, made famous worldwide thanks to the film, is closing permanently

Sad news : Sakumaseika Co. known for its sweets since the movie The Grave of the Fireflies permanently closed. This Japanese candy maker Sakuma Dropsknown thanks to the magnificent and moving film The Grave of the Fireflies will permanently close on January 23, 2023.

Created in 1908, the company did not resist the Covid crisis, the rise in energy prices and the lack of personnel, which led it to bankruptcy. An emblematic candy brand in Japan, it is known in France in particular thanks to its appearance in the film The Grave of the Fireflies from Ghibli studios, in 1988. In this animated feature film set against the backdrop of World War II in Japan, the young boy, Seita, regularly gives small candies, extracted from their black and red tin can, to his little sister who is tapped by hunger, because he has nothing else to offer her. This traditional box looks like a kind of preserve whose cap is “uncapped” with a coin or a spoon. Inside, there are fruit candies. In Japan, several limited versions have been produced bearing the image of the Tomb of the Firefliesof Snoopy or even Moomins. The fate of the company’s hundred or so employees remains uncertain.

A film as beautiful as it is moving, The Grave of the Fireflies takes place during the summer of 1945 in Japan. A 14-year-old teenager, Seita, and his five-year-old sister, Setsuko, find themselves orphans during the bombings that ravage Japan. They take refuge in their close but cruel family. Their desperate quest for a better world will lead them to cross the ruins of Japan bloodied by the end of this war as much as to face the indifference and cruelty of adults.

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Director Isao Takahata takes a very realistic approach to the destiny of two children in the face of war. The strength, naturalness and naivety of the children faced with this extraordinary situation contrast with the cruelty of the historical context. Accompanied by poignant music, this work presents the horror of war seen from the civilian side in an extremely realistic and raw way.