page_title: Bento
section_title: Taishō period
hierarchical_section_title: Bento / History / Taishō period
caption_attribution_description: English: This is an aluminum bento box from 1961. The lid fits very closely. The inside contained a smaller container for condiments.
context_page_description: Bento is a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal common in Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean cuisines and other Asian cultures where rice is the main staple food. A traditional bento holds rice or noodles, fish or meat, with pickled and cooked vegetables, in a box. Containers range from mass-produced disposables to hand-crafted lacquerware. Bento are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops, railway stations, and department stores. However, Japanese homemakers often spend time and energy on carefully prepared box lunches for their spouses, children, or themselves. Bentos can be elaborately arranged in a style called "kyaraben". Kyaraben are typically decorated to look like popular characters from Japanese animation, comic books, or video games. Another popular bento style is "oekakiben" or "picture bento". This is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments or items such as flowers and plants. Contests are often held where bento arrangers compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements.
context_section_description: In the Taishō period (1912–1926), the aluminum bento box became a luxury item because of its ease of cleaning and its silver-like appearance. Also, a move to abolish the practice of bento 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 bento 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 bento or the richness of food. After World War II, the practice of bringing bentos to school gradually declined and was replaced by uniform food provided for all students and teachers.
caption: Aluminum bento box, 1961. Lid fits closely. Small compartment for condiments.
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