Japanese bento is definitely one of the major features of Japanese food culture. Bento is generally translated as boxed rice in Chinese, but I feel that Japanese bento is still very different from Chinese boxed rice. In China, boxed lunch gives people the impression that it is a simple meal, while Japanese bento has a wide variety, from simple bento with only a few rice balls and a few pickled vegetables, to bento with high-grade ingredients such as caviar and sashimi; both homemade bento and bento sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, bento stores and train stations at different prices, with the cheapest bento at ￥200 or ￥300 (more than 10 yuan), and the most expensive at more than ￥1200 (more than 800 yuan). The cheapest bento is 200-300 yen (10 yuan) and the most expensive is 1200 yen (800 yuan).

Japanese bento has a long history, first appearing in the ancient tomb era (about the fourth century to the sixth century), when the bento was still very simple, it is the good rice in the sun dry, called "dry rice", with the advantages of not easy to deteriorate, easy to carry, and can be eaten immediately. During the Warring States period, it was used as food for samurai on the battlefield. In the Momoyama period (around the second half of the 16th century), the modern bento, in which meals were placed in special bento boxes, took shape. The daimyo and nobles of the time often carried bento while enjoying the flowers and red leaves.

Bento in the early Edo period was extremely simple, consisting of a few pieces of rice and a little soy sauce. After the middle of the Edo period, the standard of living of the common people rose considerably, and the bento became more luxurious. There were not only "flower-viewing bento," "theater-viewing bento," "boat-viewing bento," but also "picnic bento. Makuuchi" bento was a lunchbox eaten during the intermission of a movie, but nowadays it refers to a lunchbox with a large variety of dishes.

The Makunouchi bento was indeed very practical in those days, as the rice was flat and round, just right for each bite, and it was baked so that the rice would not dry out. The food was also boiled, stewed and smoked, so there was no need to worry about spoilage. The daimyo or high-ranking samurai of the time enjoyed flowers in a manner very similar to that of modern times. According to an ancient record (1695), the retainers of a certain Ieyo (head retainer) of the Kii Clan (Wakayama Prefecture), one of the "Gosan" of the Tokugawa family, shared the cost of enjoying the blossoms and ate and drank under the cherry blossom trees from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The food was ordered to be cooked and roasted, and the food would not spoil. At this time, the food was specially delivered by a restaurant.

The Tokugawa Shogunate forbade samurai to go to Yoshiwara's brothels and theaters, but some lower-ranking samurai still snuck in, but those who were samurai were required to leave their swords at the teahouse first, and could not wear them into the theater.

Daimyo in the Edo period were no different from modern-day business executives in that they had to go into the city every day to work. And unless there was a special ceremony in town, lunch was usually a bento. When it was close to noon, the retainers would bring the bento to a fixed place. Since the retainers were not allowed to enter the palace, the daimyo's chores were usually taken care of by the 300 or so junior monks in the palace. These monks were paid very low salaries and were of low status, and therefore often played tricks on them. If they did not give them gifts from time to time, they would intentionally lead the Daimyo to another room or pretend to forget to pass the lunchboxes sent by the retainers to the Daimyo. The daimyo, due to their status, could not go to collect the lunch box in person, and could not face interrogating the monk, but could only swallow their stomachs and pretend to be elegant, and went to the atrium to enjoy the koi carp or flowers and trees.