Bento - bento

Japanese: 弁当 - べんとう

Portable meals. In the olden days, it was called kouchu (traveling kitchen). Also, because large leaves from trees such as oak and magnolia, or bamboo leaves and bamboo bark were used for lunch boxes, chikuyo (bamboo leaves) is also used to mean lunch. There is also a long history of boxes made from thin cypress boards as lunch boxes. According to the Nihon Shoki, falconry was introduced to Japan during the reign of Emperor Nintoku, and there is also a long history of portable feeding bags for hawk food being used as lunch boxes, and there was a time when lunch containers were simply called feeding bags. The name tonjiki (camp food) has been used since the Heian period, and tonjiki also meant soldier's food. Because soldiers wore it hanging from their waists, the name hyorou (foot soldiers' rations) was also used. From the late Meiji to the Taisho period, low-paid office workers were called "koshiben" because at the time, they would carry their lunch boxes hanging from their waists while commuting to work. Hanging lunch boxes from the waist was also a common custom at the time.

The word bento was created when Oda Nobunaga distributed food in simple containers to a large number of people at Azuchi Castle, and the word was first coined with the meaning of dividing up the food and taking care of the immediate needs. The Edo period Wakun no Shiori states, "It is written as bento, which means a traveling kitchen. It does not exist in the past, but it was first seen when Lord Nobunaga came to Azuchi." There is another theory on the origin of the word bento. It is said that the individual tableware buckets (mentsu) became "mento" and then further changed to "bento." In the Edo period, bento developed greatly and various containers were developed. Although luxurious containers such as sageju were created, lacquerware, ceramics, and wooden boxes were generally used for bento containers. Simple methods such as wrapping rice balls in tree leaves or bamboo bark were also used. In addition to these bentos for travel, going out, and outings, bentos for theater were developed in the late Edo period. The bentos for theater from Banku in Yoshicho, Nihonbashi, were called makunouchi bentos. At the time, makunouchi referred to the dressing room of a theater, and the simmered bento served there, but from the early Showa period, the name makunouchi came to mean a bale-shaped Kansai-style rice ball sprinkled with sesame seeds. This was adopted for ekiben, and the name makunouchi bento became common. In the late Meiji period, bentos with Western-style ingredients added were called goinoko bento, but today there are many types, such as Chinese bentos, Western-style bentos, sukiyaki bentos, and tonkatsu bentos, and the containers have also diversified, with more and more being made of plastic.

[Tetsunosuke Tada]

cooking

As bento boxes are packed with several different types of food within a limited space, they require different care than everyday cooking, which is served on plates or bowls. In terms of cooking, the food should not become liquidy, should not change much in taste or color even when it cools or after time has passed, should not contain foods that spoil easily, and should be thoroughly cooked if anything is to be heated. It is also best to avoid foods with strong smells, as the smell will fill the bento box and become smelly when the lid is removed, or the smell will transfer to other dishes. Also, if rice is still hot and the lid is put on, it will steam and spoil, so let it cool sufficiently before putting it in.

In terms of nutrition, a bento is one of three meals a day, so you should get one-third of your daily requirement. Protein is especially important, and vegetables are essential for a balanced diet. It is difficult to get enough nutrition from just one side dish, so try to include several different types. It is also important to have colorful side dishes, both for nutritional balance and to make them look delicious. Also, bento tend to be heavily seasoned for preservation reasons, but for health reasons, salty flavors should be avoided.

[Tomomi Kono]

[Reference item] | Lunch box

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

携帯用の食事。古くは行厨(こうちゅう)という名称を用いていた。また、カシワ、ホオなどの大きな木の葉、あるいはササの葉、タケの皮などを弁当容器にしていたため、竹葉(ちくよう)を弁当の意に用いてもいる。ヒノキの薄板で箱をつくり、弁当箱とした歴史も古い。鷹狩(たかがり)は『日本書紀』によれば仁徳(にんとく)天皇の時代に渡来したというが、タカの餌料(じりょう)を入れる携帯用の餌袋(えぶくろ)を弁当入れに代用した歴史も古く、弁当の容器をそのまま餌袋といった時代もある。平安朝のころから屯食(とんじき)の名が用いられるが、屯食は兵食の意でもあった。兵卒が腰に下げていたので、腰兵糧(ひょうろう)の名前も使われていた。明治後期から大正にかけて薄給のサラリーマンを腰弁といったのは、当時腰に弁当をぶら下げて通勤する人がいたからである。腰に弁当をつり下げるのは、当時一般の風俗でもあった。

　弁当ということばができたのは、織田信長が安土(あづち)城で大ぜいの人にめいめいに食事を与えるとき、食物を簡単な器に盛り込んで配ったが、そのとき配当を弁ずる意と当座を弁ずる意で、初めて弁当と名づけたという。江戸時代の『和訓栞(わくんのしおり)』に「べんとう　弁当と書けり、行厨をいうなり、昔はなし、信長公安土に来て初めて視(み)たるとぞ」とある。弁当の語源説はもう一つある。めいめいの食器面桶(めんつう)が「めんとう」となり、さらに「べんとう」と転じたというのである。江戸時代になり弁当は大いに発達し、容器もいろいろくふうされてきた。提重(さげじゅう)というような豪華なものもできたが、一般には漆器、陶器、木箱などの弁当容器が使われた。握り飯を木の葉、タケの皮などに包む簡素な方法も用いられていた。これら旅行用、外出用、行楽用のほかに、江戸後期には観劇用の弁当も開発された。日本橋芳(よし)町の萬久という店の観劇用弁当は、幕の内弁当といった。幕の内とは当時芝居の楽屋をいい、その弁当の煮しめをさしたのだが、昭和初期から幕の内の名は俵形の関西風の握り飯にゴマを振りかけたものの意として用いられた。これが駅弁に取り入れられて、幕の内弁当の名で一般化した。明治後期に洋風材料を加えたものを合の子弁当といったが、いまは中華弁当、洋食弁当、すき焼き弁当、とんかつ弁当など種類も多く、容器も多様化してプラスチック製のものが増えてきた。

［多田鉄之助］

調理

弁当は限られた枠内に数種のものを詰め合わせるため、皿や鉢に盛り分ける日常の料理とは違った注意が必要である。調理面では、汁気が出ないこと、冷めたり時間がたっても味や色に変化の少ないこと、いたみやすいものを入れないこと、加熱するものは十分に火を通すことなどである。においの強いものも、弁当箱の中ににおいが充満し、蓋(ふた)をとったとき、におったり、他の料理ににおいが移るので避けたほうがよい。また、ご飯は熱いまま蓋をすると蒸れていたむ原因になるので、十分冷ましてからにする。

　栄養面では、弁当は1日3食の1食分にあたるので、1日所要量の3分の1はとれるようにする。とくにたいせつなのはタンパク質で、栄養のバランス上野菜も欠かせないものである。副菜は、一品で栄養を満たすのはむずかしいので数種は取り合わせるようにする。そして、栄養のバランス上からも見た目のおいしさからも、彩りよくすることがたいせつである。また、弁当は保存上から濃厚な味つけになりやすいが、健康上、あまり塩辛い味は避けるようにする。

［河野友美］

[参照項目] | 弁当箱

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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