Japanese Box Lunches
History
The earliest records of packed lunches in Japan date back to around the fifth century, when people going out to hunt, farm, or wage war took food with them to eat on the job. They typically carried dried rice, which was eaten either in its dried state or after being rehydrated with cold or hot water, or rice balls.
According to the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), one of Japan's oldest historic records, falconers used feed sacks as lunch bags when they went out hawking. And Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise), a tenth-century collection of lyrical stories, contains illustrations of people eating dried rice during a trip.
The word bento is often said to have originated with a sixteenth-century military commander named Oda Nobunaga (1534-82), who fed the large numbers of people at his castle by having food handed out to each individual. The word bento was coined to describe the simple meals that were distributed in this manner. (162 words)
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