noun
black-market rice
Historical term for rice sold illegally on the black market, especially during and after World War II when rice was rationed.
戦後の食糧難の時代には、闇米が高値で取引された。
In the postwar food shortage, black-market rice was traded at high prices.
彼の祖父は闇米を扱って生計を立てていたという。
They say his grandfather made a living dealing in black-market rice.
Compound of 闇 (yami, 'darkness; underground') and 米 (kome, 'rice'), with rendaku voicing of こめ to ごめ. The term emerged during wartime and postwar rationing to describe rice sold outside official channels.