BENTO

(box lunch). In premodern Japan box lunches, usually consisting of dried rice, rice balls (nigirimeshi), or sweet potatoes, wrapped in a leaf or in the sheath of bamboo shoot, were eaten chiefly by travelers and people who worked outdoors. In the Edo period (1600-1868) elaborate meals were prepared and carried in tiered lacquer boxes (jubako) on outings. Bento sold at theaters to be eaten during intermission were called makunouchi bento (“entr’acte box lunches”), the prototype of today’s shidashi bento, which are usually ordered in quantity and delivered by the restaurant that prepares them. Since the middle of the Meiji period (1868-1912) bento known as ekiben (“station box lunches”) have been sold at railway stations. In recent years there has been a proliferation of shops that specialize in take-out bento.

Bento nowadays, you can buy bento at convenience store such as 7eleven, lawson etc.