[steel]

I think some people are reading too much into some of the comments...

Pouring soy sauce on rice ... in Japan:

Yes - it probably tastes good. And, for many it might be a guilty sin that one allows young children to do at home or alone in the privacy of their own home. However, it is perceived as poor manners and 'low class' so it's not something any reasonably sane Japanese would do in public. Like licking the butter knife or something similar back home -- eg. something that tastes or feels good but you just would not do in public.

If you're still scratching your head and screaming but "that does not make sense!" - table manners and protocol aren't necessarily supposed to. In Japan, you hold the rice bowl positioned on the top of your left palm; in Korea, picking up the rice bowl would be considered rude. Same goes for bowls and small plates in Japan - holding picking them up is okay, but again, not in Korea. Abiding by Japanese table manners in Japan does not make you bigoted against Koreans - no more than not refraining from pouring soy sauce over your white rice would imply you're bigoted against Chinese. Just don't expect people to be understanding.

Back to the original question .. what do poor folk eat in Japan and what can be done with rice? Another dish is called 猫飯 (neko meshi) which is not 'cat food' but rather rice mixed directly into a bowl of miso shiru. My bet is that this is a dish that a lot more Japanese will confess to having at home by themselves (versus pouring shoyu over rice) but would stress never in public.

Another thing that some college students with a rice cooker but otherwise limited cooking skills might do is to buy tinned goods like tuna, mackerel or anchovies and deposit the whole contents over the rice like a donburi.