Ekiben Competition - Ekibentaikai

...Before World War II, special bentos consisted of chicken rice or sweetfish sushi, which was only available in summer, but from around 1955, ekiben with labels such as "X-meal" or "XX-sushi" began to appear in various regions, and the representative "Toge no Kamameshi" (Yokokawa Station on the Shinetsu Main Line) was released in February 1958. In the same month, the first national ekiben convention was held at Takashimaya in Osaka City, and since then, the convention has spread to department stores and supermarkets around the country and has been a big success. Currently (1982), the total number of ekiben is about 1,500, of which 1,035 are special types and 521 are sushi. ...

*Some of the terms used in relation to the "Ekiben Convention" are explained below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…第2次大戦前の特殊弁当は鶏飯か夏だけのアユずしであったが，1955年ころから〇〇飯，××ずしなどとうたった駅弁が各地に見られるようになり，代表格の“峠の釜飯”(信越本線横川駅)は58年2月に発売された。また同年同月，第1回全国駅弁大会が大阪市の高島屋で開かれ，以後駅弁大会は年とともに各地のデパートやスーパーへも伝わり盛況をみせている。現在(1982)駅弁の総点数は約1500，そのうち前記の特殊が1035で，すし類は521にのぼる。…

※「駅弁大会」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報