BENTO IN EVERYDAY JAPANESE LIFE, (in english)

Besides feeding people at school or work, bento are also consumed on picnics, as well as in private homes and at parties, where they offer a convenient means of extending simple hospitality or serving large numbers of people.


A female corporate employee's bento
This bento comes in two layers; a variety of colors can be seen in the food packed in this lacquer box. On top of the rice in the bottom layer are minced chicken meat, egg, and long thin strips of kidney beans. In the top layer are side dishes, including asparagus and carrots wrapped in meat and cooked, sugared sweet potato, salad (lettuce, radish, cucumber, and cauliflower), and fruit (a strawberry, an orange slice, and a piece of pineapple). This bento contains a variety of different foods. The small container at the bottom contains salad dressing

In Japan, some schools provide to the students, while others require students to bring their own lunches. In the latter case, the students' mothers usually prepare the lunches. However, some of the more industrious students like to make their lunches themselves. The custom of bringing lunch from home is quite prevalent not only among students but also among working adults.


A male corporate employee's bento
This bento is packed in a lacquer box and contains a lot of food. The bottom layer contains rice with seaweed sandwiched in the middle. There is more seaweed on the top of the right side of the rice, and there are some spices sprinkled on the left side. There is a pickled apricot on the left side. Side dishes include vegetable tempura, grilled fish, chicken boiled in soy sauce, Chinese stir-fried beef and vegetables, and boiled spinach.

When a person eats a box lunch prepared by a loved one, the preparer's feelings are transmitted through the food. In other words, the bento serves as a vehicle for communication between the maker and the eater. A bento prepared at home is imbued with the love of the eater's family.


Bento for commercial sale -fried food
This bento includes fried pork on a skewer, a croquette, pork cooked with ginger, and a sausage. This bento packs a lot of energy!


Bento for commercial sale - chirashizushi bento
This chirashizushi (raw fish and other ingredients on a bed of sushi rice) bento contains a number of different kinds of seafood, including tuna, squid, crab, salmon, salmon eggs, shrimp, scallops, sea urchin, and conger eel. While a number of the ingredients are boiled or grilled, many of them are raw

But with more and more mothers working outside the home, bento are now being sold in increasing numbers at department stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores. There are even shops specializing in takeout bento. Besides the ever-popular makunouchi bento, many other kinds of box lunches are available, including Chinese-style and Western-style bento.
Bento are also served at Japanese restaurants. Many restaurants also offer bento for takeout, so that people can enjoy the chef's taste in the comfort of their own homes.


Ekiben (station bento) - mackerel sushi
When the bamboo leaves are opened, half of a mackerel that has been prepared with vinegar and covered with thin strips of kelp greets the eye. Underneath the mackerel is sushi rice. Soy sauce can be added according to taste. The dish includes ginger pickled in sweet vinegar. Food wrapped in bamboo leaves is one of the original forms of bento

As for ekiben (bento sold at train stations), they have certainly proliferated since the Meiji period: Some 2,000 to 3,000 different kinds are sold at railway stations throughout Japan. In addition to the makunouchi bento and sushi bento, a rich variety of box lunches containing local specialties also compete for the appetites of travelers. Once upon a time, bento sellers waited on the platform for trains full of hungry customers to arrive. The vendors carried boxfuls of bento using shoulder straps and passed the lunches right through the open train windows. But passengers today can rarely experience the fun of buying bento through the window while the train makes a stop at a station. This is because Japanese trains operate on a much brisker schedule nowadays, and also because - what with the proliferation of high-speed trains like the Shinkansen (bullet train) and special express trains - more and more railroad cars have windows that cannot be opened. Still, purchasing a box lunch at a station shop or inside the train remains one of the pleasures of Japanese railway travel.


Ekiben (station bento) - Fukagawa rice
Ekiben (station bento) include an area's special products. Fukagawa is a part of the older section of Tokyo that has long been famous for asari (short-necked clams), so Fukagawa rice is often called asari rice. Fukagawa rice was originally made by pouring miso soup made with asari and leeks over rice. This ekiben (station bento) contains rice cooked with asari. Fried conger eel and goby simmered in a mixture that includes soy sauce and suger are placed on top of the rice, giving this bento the taste of Tokyo

Edited by yurippe_watanabe - 28/2/2006, 14:36