Do you know the famous Japanese lunch boxes? In this article, we will talk about Obento and how the Japanese transform a simple meal into a work of art.
Creativity and aesthetics are part of Japanese cuisine and culture. Bentos are prepared with great care, and ingredients are selected not only for their taste and nutrition but also for their color and shape.
Japanese lunch boxes carry an artistic tone, showing that the appearance of meals is also important. Even if the obento is not made to look like a work of art, they are usually organized.
Table of Contents
How did Japanese lunch boxes become art?
During the Meiji Era, students did not have meals at school. So teachers and students needed to buy or bring a lunch box from home, which greatly popularized this culture of lunch boxes and bentos.
Japanese lunch boxes have always been organized, but over the years, mothers wanting to please their children began to create characters using ingredients like rice balls with faces made of nori seaweed.
Soon all mothers felt obliged to create beautiful Obento for their children. Thus, a large part of the Obento is kawaii (that is, cute). Even the way a sausage is cut makes the meal more beautiful and fun.
Read also: Meaning of Kawaii – Culture of cuteness in Japan
The lunch box itself is wrapped in a cloth called furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping that is quite popular and already emits a certain artistic and practical tone within Japanese culture.
The goal of mothers is to provide a nutritionally balanced and aesthetically pleasing meal. This is done by Japanese mothers throughout society and at school, especially in the early years of schooling.
Read also: Furoshiki – The charming Japanese wrapping
Lunch boxes that look cute and feature characters from anime and manga made with food are called Kyaraben. Lunch boxes with buildings, people, animals, and monuments are called Oekakiben.
Even high school students often have their lunch boxes organized and cute using kyaraben or oekakiben. Throughout the article, you will see various photos of lunch boxes that follow this style.
The history and origin of bento in Japan
The origin of the Japanese lunch box may even derive from the third century, where farmers going to work took their lunch in a pot made of bamboo leaves. Over time, this evolved into wooden boxes.
Records show that during the Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333), a cooked and dried rice called Hoshi-ii was developed, which was taken to work in bags.
During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600), wooden boxes were produced to carry the cooked rice that was generally consumed during Hanami or Tea Ceremony.
In the Edo Period (1603-1867), the obento culture spread and became more refined. Travelers and tourists took koshibento, which consists of several onigiri wrapped in bamboo leaves in a bamboo box.
The first record of an Ekibento, that is, a lunch box sold at train stations, is recorded in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) at the Utsunomiya station. At that time, there were already sandwich lunch boxes inspired by Europe.
During the Taisho Period (1912–1926), aluminum Obento boxes became popular due to their ease of cleaning. There was a significant decline in lunch boxes in Japanese schools because during the war and scarcity, these boxes reflected the wealth and inequality of students.
After much struggle to eliminate lunch boxes in Japanese schools, they were gradually replaced by food provided by the school itself for both students and teachers.
Only with Japan’s recovery after World War II did bentos return with strength. It was in the 1980s, with the help of the microwave oven and the proliferation of convenience stores, that lunch boxes became cheaper and took their rightful place in Japanese schools.
Nowadays, plastic and aluminum boxes are used, and some go further by creating multi-tiered compartments, even creating a food building. There are quite stylish obento boxes that separate and turn into various compartments.
What is an Obento – Japanese lunch box like?
The traditional Japanese lunch box generally contains rice, fish, meat, and cooked or pickled vegetables. The possibilities are endless, but they are usually always served in special trays that have compartments.
Moreover, it is not just children who take advantage of lunch boxes; a large part of the Japanese, especially those who work, usually consume obento from convenience stores.
Even these stores do their best to attract customers, even if not with children’s characters, you can see the great organization in the lunch boxes where all food is separated into compartments.
The preparation of artistic obento can take time, leading mothers to start preparing it the night before, so they can just assemble and pack it the next morning for their children to take to school.
The meaning of the word bento
Do you know the meaning of the word Obento? The word Obento [お弁当] is composed of the ideograms [弁] which relates to distinction and separation along with [当] which means to hit, to achieve, to strike. Together, this word forms something like convenient.
The word came from Chinese [便当] which means convenient. This makes total sense, as taking a lunch box or buying one in a store is an easy and convenient way to have a meal.
In Japan, the word “Bento” has been used since the 13th century, and the container or box itself has also been called “bento” since the 16th century. This word has various functions and refers to any meal that can be taken or brought.
Bento x Obento – What is the difference?
In fact, there is no significant difference between an obento and a bento. Both terms are used interchangeably when referring to the Japanese way of packing meals.
The [お] present in the word Obento [お弁当] is an honorific prefix [御] that makes the word more formal. It is usually written with the Hiragana letter “O,” but the Kanji that originated this honorific is [御].
Using obento too much in informal situations can sound quite childish. It is more common to use the word bento when conversing in everyday Japanese with friends. Obento is used when you want to be polite to a child or your boss.
It is also worth noting that the word bento uses an honorific to show politeness and gratitude towards the person who prepared the lunch box and also for the things we are going to eat in it. That is why children are encouraged to use the [お].
The types and categories of bento
It is not just mothers who make the lunch box and deliver it for their children to take as a meal to school. Bentos are part of the daily life of most Japanese people. It is possible to buy these lunch boxes in various places.
This leads to bentos being separated into types and categories that we will mention below. They are usually named after the place where the lunch box is bought or the style in which it is made or prepared.
Kyaraben [キャラ弁] – Name of the obento served to children with cute characters.
Chūka bentō [中華弁当] – These lunch boxes are usually filled with Chinese food. They are cold dishes and more appetizers that are considered a snack.
Hinomaru bento [日の丸弁当] – Name given to the obento that consists of white rice with umeboshi in the center. The name was taken from the flag of Japan which has a red circle on a white background.
Kamameshi bentō [釜飯弁当] – Artistic bento sold at train stations in Nagano, it is cooked and served in a clay pot that serves as a souvenir.
Makunouchi bentō [幕の内弁当] – Traditional style with white rice, umeboshi, grilled salmon slice, rolled egg, and others.
- Sake bentō [鮭弁当] – Simple lunch box with grilled salmon slice as the main dish.
- Shidashi bentō [仕出し弁当] – Made in a restaurant and delivered during lunch;
- Shōkadō bentō [松花堂弁当] – Traditional black box for carrying meals;
- Tori bento [鳥弁当] – Pieces of chicken cooked in sauce and served over rice, popular in Gunma.
- Shikaeshiben [仕返し弁] – Lunch box written to take revenge on husbands by writing insults in the food;
- Ekiben [駅弁] – Sold at stations or on board the train;
- Hayaben [早弁] – When you eat an obento early before lunchtime.
- Hokaben [ホカ弁] – Any lunch box bought in bento shops for takeout;
- Noriben [海苔弁] – Simple bento where the nori is dipped in soy sauce and covers the cooked rice;
- Soraben [空弁] – Sold at airports.
Furoshiki – Wrapping the lunch box
Furoshiki is a cloth used as a wrapping to transport clothes, gifts, and other goods. It has been used in countless ways for over a thousand years with different prints, colors, and sizes.
With it, you can make a bag to carry your lunch box. With furoshiki, it is possible to make a ring bag, bottle holders, book bags, fruit baskets, bags for holding objects, wrapping gifts, and much more.
Furoshiki also refers to the technique of folding fabrics. Any tablecloth or small printed piece of cloth, even a beach sarong, can be transformed into a bag or used to wrap a lunch box.
Obento videos – Preparing your lunch box
See some examples of how the Japanese take their daily meals seriously.
To learn more about the creation of Japanese lunch boxes, we will leave some videos about the creation and decoration of bentos. I hope you enjoyed the article! We appreciate the comments and shares!
Video of a Brazilian preparing an Obento from the movie Frozen:
A little about Obento from Konbini (Convenience Store):
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