obento

Bento served at a restaurant

Bentō (弁当 or べんとう^?) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bentō consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bentō is readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya^?), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box.

Bentō can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben. Contests are often held where bentō arrangers compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements. Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like people, animals, or characters and items such as flowers and plants.

There are similar forms of boxed lunches in the Philippines (Baon), Korea (Dosirak), Taiwan (Biandang), and India (Tiffin).

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2006)

A typical 1,000 yen ekiben, purchased at Tokyo Station

Bento purchased on the Shinkansen train from Tokyo to Kyoto, in a Daruma box

The origin of bentō can be traced back to the late Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333), when cooked and dried rice called hoshi-ii (糒 or 干し飯, literally "dried meal") was developed. Hoshi-ii can be eaten as is or boiled with water to make cooked rice, and is stored in a small bag. In the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568 to 1600), wooden lacquered boxes like today's were produced and bentō would be eaten during a hanami or a tea party.

In the Edo Period (1603 to 1867), bentō culture spread and became more refined. Travelers and sightseers would carry a simple koshibentō (腰弁当, "waist bentō"), consisting of several onigiri wrapped with bamboo leaves or in a woven bamboo box. One of the most popular styles of bentō, called makuno-uchi bentō ("between-act bentō"), was first made during this period. People who came to see Noh and Kabuki ate specially prepared bentō between maku (acts). Numerous cookbooks were published detailing how to cook, how to pack, and what to prepare for occasions like Hanami and Hinamatsuri.

In the Meiji Period (1868 to 1912), the first ekibentō or ekiben (駅弁当 or 駅弁, "train station bentō") was sold. There are several records that claim where ekiben was first sold, but it is believed that it was sold on 16 July 1885, at the Utsunomiya train station, and contained two onigiri and a serving of takuan wrapped in bamboo leaves. As early schools did not provide lunch, students and teachers carried bentō, as did many employees. A European-style bentō with sandwiches also went on sale during this period.

In the Taishō period (1912 to 1926), the aluminum bentō box became a luxury item because of its ease of cleaning and its silver-like appearance. Also, a move to abolish the practice of bentō in school became a social issue. Disparities in wealth spread during this period, following an export boom during World War I and subsequent crop failures in the Tohoku region. A bentō too often reflected a student's wealth, and many wondered if this had an unfavorable influence on children both physically, from lack of adequate diet, and psychologically, from a clumsily made bentō or the richness of food. After World War II, the practice of bringing bentō to school gradually declined and was replaced by uniform food provided for all students and teachers.

Bentō regained its popularity in the 1980s, with the help of the microwave oven and the proliferation of convenience stores. In addition, the expensive wood and metal boxes have been replaced at most bentō shops with inexpensive, disposable polystyrene boxes. However, even handmade bentō have made a comeback, and they are once again a common, although not universal, sight at Japanese schools. Bentō are still used by workers as a packed lunch, by families on day trips, for school picnics and sports days, etc. The bentō, made at home, is wrapped in a furoshiki cloth, which acts as both bag and table mat.

Bentō is also popular in Taiwan. Bendong (Taiwanese: piān-tong) or Biendang (便當, "convenience pack") made its way to Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century from Japan, where it remains very popular to the present day. The term is a loan word from the Japanese word in Taiwanese Hokkien and Taiwanese Mandarin.

Airports also offer an analogous version of the ekiben: bentō filled with local cuisine, to be eaten while waiting for an airplane or during the flight.

Types of bentō

Shōkadō bentō

Two typical home made Bentos (one open, one wrapped) - note the furoshiki cloths

Hinomaru style rice in a Makunouchi bento

• Shōkadō bentō (松花堂弁当) is a traditional black-lacquered Japanese bentō box. It inspired IBM's (later sold to Lenovo) ThinkPad design.^[1]
• Chūka bentō (中華弁当) are filled with Chinese food. While Chinese do have cold plates, it is more for appetizers or "midnight snack". The food that is associated with chuka bentō was invented in Japan.
• Kamameshi bentō (釜飯弁当) are sold at train stations in Nagano Prefecture. It is cooked and served in a clay pot. The pot is a souvenir item.
• Makunouchi bentō (幕の内弁当) is a classic style of bentō with rice, a pickled ume fruit (umeboshi), a slice of broiled salmon, a rolled egg, etc.
• Noriben (海苔弁) is the simplest bentō, with nori dipped in soy sauce covering cooked rice.
• Sake bentō (鮭弁当) is a simple bentō with a slice of broiled salmon (鮭, sake) as the main dish.
• Shidashi bentō (仕出し弁当) is made in a restaurant and delivered during lunch. This bentō is often eaten at a gathering, like a funeral or a party. It is usually packed with traditional Japanese foods like tempura, rice and pickled vegetables. A shidashi bentō packed with European-style food is also available.
• Sushizume (鮨詰め) literally means "packed sushi", and is a bentō filled with sushi.
• Tori bentō (鳥弁当) consists of pieces of chicken cooked in sauce served over rice. It is a popular bentō in Gunma Prefecture.
• Hinomaru bentō (日の丸弁当) is the name for a bentō consisting of plain white rice with an umeboshi in the centre. The name was taken from the Hinomaru, the Japanese flag, which has a white background with a red circle in the centre. Pure Hinomaru bentō consists only of rice and umeboshi to flavor rice without any other side dishes. The metal bentō boxes, once popular in Japan, were often corroded by the acid of umeboshi, eventually making a hole in the middle of the lid.

Other

• Hokaben (ホカ弁) is any kind of bentō bought at a take-out bentō shop. Freshly cooked hot (hokka hoka) rice is usually served with freshly prepared side dishes. The name was popularized after a pioneering take-out bentō franchise in the field, Hokka Hokka Tei.
• Hayaben (早弁), literally "early bentō", is eating a bentō before lunch, and having another lunch afterward.
• Dokaben (ドカベン) is a baseball manga of which the title came from the protagonist, Taro Yamada's huge bentō box (dokaben).
• Ekiben is a bentō sold at railway stations (eki). There are many kinds of ekiben. Most are inexpensive and filling.

See also

• Furoshiki
• Japanese cuisine
• Kyaraben
• Lunchbox
• Plate lunch
• Ekiben
• Makunouchi

References

Books

• Kawaii Bento Boxes: Cute and Convenient Japanese Meals on the Go. Japan Publications Trading. 2009. ISBN 978-4-88996-260-4. 
• Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go. Japan Publications Trading. ISBN 978-4-88996-073-0. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bento (food)

• Photos of bento on Flickr