Kyaraben

The 17th century marked the birth of the bentō in Japan when farmers began to use wooden containers to take their food to work.{{cite web | url=https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/en/feature/detail/667.html | title=History of the Japanese bento, an "offering" of love and care }} These containers allowed meals to become portable for the working class, where food such as rice and vegetables could be stored. In the 18th century, bentos became popular portable meal choices for special occasions. For example, it has become a tradition to bring bentos to view the cherry blossoms for the Japanese tradition Hanami.{{cite web | url=https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/en/feature/detail/667.html | title=History of the Japanese bento, an "offering" of love and care }}

As time passed, Japanese bento boxes became more elaborate and were used to transport more food for other special occasions, such as when people watched plays. Rice, fish cakes, and side dishes were popular choices of food to add to a bento, and have remained popular bento foods in the 21st century.{{cite web | url=https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/en/feature/detail/667.html | title=History of the Japanese bento, an "offering" of love and care }} During the late 1800s, people ate bento on the newly established trains. During the Showa Era in the 1900s, a new type of bento emerged: The Shokado. The Shokado bento could be used to create everyday meals. Put simply, bento boxes are used for portable meals, such as lunches at work or school, as well as special occasions.{{cite web | url=https://thegate12.com/article/186 | title=Kyaraben: How to Make Cute Japanese Bento Box Lunches! | date=8 April 2023 }}

The 1990s is when the kyaraben bento emerged. Kyaraben is a famous type of Japanese bento where people use food to create famous characters from popular culture,{{cite web | url=https://thegate12.com/article/186 | title=Kyaraben: How to Make Cute Japanese Bento Box Lunches! | date=8 April 2023 }} including characters from the hit children's anime Pokémon and the cute characters from Sanrio, such as Hello Kitty.{{Cite web |last=Bhatt |first=Prakruti |date=2022-07-08 |title=Hello Kitty In Bento Box Form Is What We All Need Right Now |url=https://www.saveur.com/food/japan-decorative-bento-box/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Saveur |language=en}} Kyaraben, also known as character bento, is a cute and fun type of bento parents make for their children. It is popular with women and mothers, who often enjoy sharing their creations on blogs and social media platforms.{{cite web | url=https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/en/feature/detail/667.html | title=History of the Japanese bento, an "offering" of love and care }}

File:BENTO STUFF -D (2754879654).jpg

To make kyaraben, different types of food, such as seaweed and carrots, are cut into shapes and placed on rice balls to make characters. A variety of tools are needed to cut, punch, and shape food into different shapes and characters. Scissors and nori punches can punch out pieces of food, for example.{{cite web | url=https://en.bentoandco.com/collections/kyaraben-tools-everything-you-need-to-make-cute-character-bentos?page=1 | title=Kyaraben Tools: Everything you need to make cute "character" bentos! }} Tweezers are helpful for picking up, moving, and placing the little bits of food together to create the character. Other recommended kyaraben-making tools include molds, food cutters, stamps, slicers, and bento picks decorated with cute characters, food, or objects for a fun eating experience.{{cite web | url=https://en.bentoandco.com/collections/kyaraben-tools-everything-you-need-to-make-cute-character-bentos?page=1 | title=Kyaraben Tools: Everything you need to make cute "character" bentos! }}

Kyaraben is important to families, especially mothers and children. Japanese mothers use it as a means to express their creativity and culture{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0740770X.2011.624798 | doi=10.1080/0740770X.2011.624798 | title=Bento blogs: Japanese women's expression in digital food culture | date=2011 | last1=Seddon | first1=Klara | journal=Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory | volume=21 | issue=3 | pages=301–319 }} while making food fun for their children. Many of these women share their kyaraben creations on their own personal blogs, where they can connect with other women.{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0740770X.2011.624798 | doi=10.1080/0740770X.2011.624798 | title=Bento blogs: Japanese women's expression in digital food culture | date=2011 | last1=Seddon | first1=Klara | journal=Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory | volume=21 | issue=3 | pages=301–319 }}

Children enjoy kyaraben because their food is decorated as their favorite animals or cartoon characters. This cute fun prompts socialization and helps children make friends.{{cite web | url=https://www.saveur.com/food/japan-decorative-bento-box/ | title=Hello Kitty in Bento Box Form is What We All Need Right Now | date=8 July 2022 }}

Kyaraben is important to Japanese culture because it is a way for mothers to express their creativity and encourage their children to eat certain foods.{{cite web | url=https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00021/ | title="Kyaraben" (Character "Bentōs") | date=12 October 2015 }} People can decorate their character bentos to symbolize traditions and seasons.{{cite web | url=https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00021/ | title="Kyaraben" (Character "Bentōs") | date=12 October 2015 }}

Kyaraben is important to Japanese culture because of the diverse and artistic array of bento boxes, as well as its ability to harbor all five senses and all five different flavors, including umami.{{Cite news |title=The cultural significance of the Bento Box {{!}} Japan Up Close |url=https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230728_4.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240709215512/https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230728_4.html |archive-date=2024-07-09 |access-date=2025-03-21 |work=Japan Up Close |language=en-US}}

Kyaraben lunchboxes are a major plot element in Bento Monogatari, a 2010 short film by Belgian director Pieter Dirkx. This film is about a woman interested in popular culture, who prepares bento for her husband in an attempt to mend their marriage.Bento_Monogatari Kyaraben is influenced by popular culture because people decorate their bento with characters from cartoons, anime, manga, and video games.{{cite web | url=https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00021/ | title="Kyaraben" (Character "Bentōs") | date=12 October 2015 }}

Kyaraben is gaining worldwide popularity, such as in countries like France and Italy,{{Cite news |title=The cultural significance of the Bento Box {{!}} Japan Up Close |url=https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230728_4.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240709215512/https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230728_4.html |archive-date=2024-07-09 |access-date=2025-03-21 |work=Japan Up Close |language=en-US}} and a 2014 contest held by the government helped introduce foreigners to Japanese food.{{cite web | url=https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00021/ | title="Kyaraben" (Character "Bentōs") | date=12 October 2015 }}

• Ekiben
• Makunouchi

{{reflist}}

Itoh, Makiko. "The 3rd Sanrio Charaben (Kyaraben) Contest Winners are Announced". Just Bento, 10 July 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.

Hirono. "Dude, Where's My Food? Nobu Los Angeles – Lavender and Olive". Lavender and Olive. Retrieved 7 October 2014.

"Collection: Kyaraben Tools: Everything you need to make cute "character" bentos!". Bento&CO, [https://en.bentoandco.com/collections/kyaraben-tools-everything-you-need-to-make-cute-character-bentos?page=1]. Retrieved 13 February 2025.

“[https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/en/feature/detail/667.html History of the Japanese bento, an “offering” of love and care]”. Taste of Japan. Retrieved 13 February 2025.

“[https://thegate12.com/article/186 Kyaraben: How to Make Cute Japanese Bento Box Lunches!]”. The Gate, 8 April 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2025.

Prakruti, Bhatt. “[https://www.saveur.com/food/japan-decorative-bento-box/ Hello Kitty In Bento Box Form Is What We All Need Right Now]”. Saveur, 8 July 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2025.

“‘[https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00021/. Kyaraben’ (Character “Bentōs”)]. Nippon.com, 12 October 2015 Retrieved 14 February 2025.

Seddon, Klara. Bento blogs: Japanese women's expression in digital food culture. Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory, vol. 2, issue 3, 2011, pp. 301-319, Taylor & Francis Online. Retrieved 14 February 2025.

Writer, Staff. “[https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230728_4.html The cultural significance of the Bento Box]”. Japan Up Close: Getting to know Japan with familiar faces, 28 July 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2025.

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• [http://facefoodbento.blogspot.com/ Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Charaben (and Other Food)]

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Category:Bento

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