As we all know, in the early days of World War II, we had to take a lunch box to work or school at least once a week, and we had to make a "Japanese flag lunch box". It is to put prunes in the middle of rice (also cooked with barley), because it is a bit like the Japanese flag, so it is called "Japanese flag bento". When I was in Japan, I interviewed an upper-middle class woman to get information. The following words are what she once told me: "My grandmother felt sorry for me and secretly hid snacks under the rice for me to eat, and no one else knew. If I knew that such a result would be severely punished, and not only I, but also the whole family members would be humiliated, I felt very scared. However, my favorite grandmother cooked a lunch for me. How happy. "
This is not a rare thing. I think someone has done the same thing if possible.
Since the defeat of World War II in 1945, Japan's economy has been very depressed, not to mention new containers, and even food is difficult to obtain. After the Korean War, especially after the Tokyo Olympic Games, Japan entered a new era of consumption prosperity.
At the beginning. The words "bento" and "small lunch box" have no interesting meaning. A "lunch box" is a container containing food that people carry when watching a drama, playing happily in the wild or traveling. "Small lunch box" generally refers to the lunch box that farmers or workers bring to farmland or workplace.
The word "bento" is still retained, but the word "small lunch box" is no longer used. This should be said by the upper class and gradually spread to all levels of society. But in fact, the pursuit of immersing all aspects of daily life in a "playful atmosphere" is considered to be related to the Japanese national character. This sense of pursuing "playfulness" can be reflected not only in the shape and color of lunch boxes, but also in "lunch supplies" (lunch bags and bags, which contain wet towels, spices, tableware, small plates, portable spices, and a small fork, chopsticks, thermos bottle, etc. ).
People who like traditional luxury lunch boxes, or those who miss traditional luxury lunch boxes, draw flowers and plants on the lid of genuine or imitation lunch boxes, which is seasonal. When there are children and students, or when using foreign languages, especially when English is widely used, they are keen to draw cute animals and plants on lunch boxes, popular people on TV and so on. Department stores and manufacturers are constantly introducing new and interesting designs, which has contributed to this trend. In addition, the Japanese take a fancy to their favorite attributes such as freshness, variety and seasonality, and hold activities called "Spring Lunch Box Exhibition", "Special price of lunch boxes for kindergarten children" and "Special price of flower lunch boxes".