Eating Our Way Through Japanese History—
A Brief Study of theObento

Eva Lucks

December 2001

 

The obento is a boxed meal, quite similar to a lunch box, which can be taken anywhere.It can be home made, ordered out, bought, or eaten in a restaurant and is always a satisfying meal.Obento have been a part of the Japanese society as far back as the 700’s and are even mentioned, in a simpler form, in the Kojiki.[1]As they have evolved with Japan’s society obento have become far more than a lunch box.In this paper I will explore the origins, variations, and modern social implications of the obento.

Although in contemporary Japan the obento box can be anything from plastic to elaborately lacquered wood, the first containers used as obento were bamboo sheaths that were believed to possess antiseptic qualities.Leaves eventually gave way to simple wooden or wicker boxes in which lunches of rice were carried by workers.These boxes were thin and flimsy, made to be thrown away after just one use.[2]History has contributed to the sophistication and beautification of the obento.

By the mid to late 1500’s Japan was in a state of war and unrest and obento were used to carry communal meals for soldiers and workers.Later, soldiers were given individual obento called menko for carrying food to the battlefield.[3]The Moyoyama period, known for its creativity and artistic design, encouraged the use of obento during the tea ceremony.In the following years Japan found herself isolated from the world under the repressive rule of Tokugawa Ieyasu.The enforced system of alternate residence made obento into a necessity.The mass pilgrimage of diamyo to and from Tokyo caused a heightened demand for obento, and boxes became elegantly decorated.Lacquered boxes were introduced with the rise of performing arts.Elaborate Makunouchiobento were, and still are, served during intermission at Kabuki, Bunraku, and other performances.The literal meaning being “behind-the-curtains-lunch-box”, this name is extended to the obento eaten by merchants as the close they curtains of their shops for ohirugohan, or lunch.[4]
 

Even after Japan re-opened its harbors to the rest of the world obento were hardly washed away amidst the waves of industrialization.Instead obento earned new forms, such as the hango, an aluminum container hung from the belt of a soldier during the Showa period.Boy scouts use similar obento today.The contents of the obento have changed as well, often including western foods for instance miniature hamburgers and small portions of spaghetti.
 

In contemporary Japan the obento has many variations divided into three main categories determined by the food contained within them, the purpose of the event or meal they are eaten at, and the type of box enclosing the meal.The Gyuniku bento, for example, contains stir-fried slices of beef while the Hanami bento is the lunch taken to see the flowers in spring.[5]The relationship of the external container and its contents is so important that new terms for obento are constantly evolving.An important type of obento is the Ekiben, sold at eki (stations) and during long-distance train rides.
 

Ekiben are widely recognized because they purvey the local recipes of the town or village in which they can be bought.Originally sold in Japanese train stations after 1878, just 10 years after Japan officially opened to the rest of the world[6], Ekiben now enjoy great popularity due to their convenience.Since then, they have become famous as a way to savor local specialtiesand their manufacturing has developed into a huge business.Ekiben represent two contradicting tendencies in Japan’s modern society.First, they stand for the demand for authenticity and the return to tradition present in contemporary society.Second, they are mass-produced.Ekiben are the irony of a mass- produced “authentic” traditional food.
 

The obento is not merely a boxed meal; it is an example of a typically Japanese approach to food.As defined by the Japan Forum Newsletter: food should be prepared with the intentions of “making it so delicious-looking you could eat it with your eyes”.[7]In fact, no food is “just” food in Japan[8], the aesthetics of food is almost more important than the taste or nutritional value.
 
 

According to Anne Allison, food is prepared in a presentational style that is determined by a number of codes.One code calls for “smallness, separation, and fragmentation,” another for opposition by means of color, shape, texture and even between the food and its container.[9]Therefore, food should be carefully prepared in bite-size pieces placed neatly within the barriers of the obento box.The foods should oppose each other in that pink is placed with green, smooth surfaces with rough ones, and circular foods in square dishes should rest next to angular foods in round dishes.There is also a code that calls for the stylization of nature.Foods should remain in their natural, raw, state to the highest extent possible.The obento should also be decorated with natural objects such as flowers or maple leaves, and ingredients should be created into “natural” shapes such as animals or flowers.
 

The rules of style and order are especially important in the preparation of a child’s obento.Although obento have become popular among working women and men, the largest consumers by far are children.It has become a social-norm for mothers to spend up to 45 minutes per obento every morning for each child’s lunch.These so-called “school-bento”[10] start when a child is in pre-school and they play a large part in the socialization of both children and mothers.
 

Nursery schools have established regulations for obento.All children must bring one for lunch and each obento should have the following properties: 1) Food should be prepared in such a way that it is easy to eat.2) Food must be prepared in such a way that it can be eaten with chopsticks or with the fingers.3) Portions should be small.4) Food that a child does not like should be slowly introduced so that the child will not be a fussy eater.5) The obento must be pretty and pleasing to the eye.6) Obento should be as handmade as possible, including the obento bag (obentobukuro) in which the obento is contained.[11]Mothers take extreme care in following the rules because each obento serves as a connection between the home (uchi), and the outside (soto), represented by the school.Maria del Alisal explains that “Bento create an invisible bond between mother and child, and also between the world of the family and the world of the school.”[12]The mother wants her child to be reminded of the home and also hopes that the child will become acclimated to the new soto environment and be accepted into the “in group” of the other students.She can do this best by preparing the most visually, nutritionally, and deliciously pleasing obento as possible.
 

Once at school, the child is responsible for completely finishing his or her obento.Often recess or lessons will not start until every student is finished.The logic behind this rule is that the child must meet certain expectations as an introduction to the future “rigors” of the Japanese educational system.[13]Schools create many ploys to encourage children to eat such as sing-alongs and collectively thanking Buddha.[14]The bottom line, however, is that the obento signifies a message to follow directions and accept authority.The lunch-time rules form an approval of ritualistic tasks that will be carried by the children into later years.
 

Roles of social order are not the only ideology maintained in the cultural meaning of obento.The aforementioned “socialization” of mothers is also present in the making of obento.We have seen that the preparation of food is highly stylized with a clearly defined right way of doing things.It is therefore the responsibility of the person who prepares the food to meet the “standards of perfection and exactness that is demanded.”[15]The intense task of preparing the obento almost solely falls upon the mother.
 

Because the obento signifies both uchi and soto it is important for the mothers to create the perfect obento for each child.It must be attractive and must encourage the child to eat all the food within it.However, mothers do not have to form ideas for the obento by themselves, hundreds of magazines are published about obento giving tips and ideas for creating the ideal lunch.In fact, although dated, a 1998 survey in Osaka concluded there were 474 magazines available pertaining to obento.[16]Many schools hold PTA meetings to discuss obento, especially during the first months of the school year.These meetings focus on how the food should be “packed and wrapped” in order to ensure the best results.[17]Often if a child fails to be able to finish his or her obento the blame is placed on the mother’s inability to prepare a proper lunch.
 

The making of obento is, of course, just the beginning of the continuous commitment of a mother to her child’s education.The Japanese society looks upon the mother as one of the main influences of a child’s success, as Allison explains: “the mother is generally perceived as being the support, goad, and cushion for her child.”[18]The creating of obento can be considered the mother’s preparation for her future role in supporting her child’s schooling.Much like her child in eating the obento, a mother is also accepting a ritualized task in making the obento.
 

Yet preparing obento is not merely a duty performed for a child, it is also a way for a mother to define herself.According to Allison, “an obento…is not only a gift or test for a child but a representation and product of the woman herself.”[19]Women can, within the constraints of their gender roles, unleash a creativity otherwise masked.The need to make the food artistic and fun allows mothers to “play”.Their subsequent creations portray their creativity.And indeed, many of the finished products are fun.Apples made into pineapples; hot dogs formed into people; cucumbers cut as flowers; potatoes designed into worms; and colorful napkins, skewers, and flags fill the boxes.These are certainly expressions of both a mother’s creativity and her never-ending commitment to and love for her child.
 

After establishing the history, variations and social implications of the obento it is obvious that they are not purely utilitarian objects.They are important articles of the Japanese culture with a function within daily and social interactions. Aside from being the containers of a delicious and beautifully crafted meal, obento signify the gender and social roles of the mothers who make them and the students who eat them.Having been present in Japan’s history and culture for thousands of years obento have evolved within the society branching off into many forms for many occasions.In addition to a meal, each obento encloses a piece of Japan’s contemporary and historical culture.