备受争议的“便当史”.doc

备受争议的“便当史”It’s not another middle class DIY project. The bento box is a staple of Japanese culinary history.2 The history of bento is far deeper than Pokémon cafés and Pinspiration.3 The Japanese lunch container evolved from utility to status symbol to kawaii over the past 15 centuries.4 In fact， during times of economic uncertainty owning a bento box was downright5 controversial. In the 5th century， Japan’s farmers， hunters， and warriors packed their lunches in sacks or boxes and brought them to the fields.6 The design is derived from a farmer’s seed box， and usually features multiple compartments7 for different dishes， such as rice， vegetables， and fish. From there， bento spread across countries―China ， South Korea， the Philippines， and more. The word“bento” was actually derived from the Southern Song Dynasty slang8 term biàndāng， which means“convenient.” Each culture adopted its own dishes for the box， but the idea of a varied， balanced lunch remained constant.9 Bento became a favorite for cultural gatherings and social events， such as festivals， theater， and religious holidays. Boxes themselves could be made of lacquered10 wood or basket material. When the aluminum bento became popular during Japan’s Taishōperiod beginning in 1912， 11 bento suddenly went from lunch to luxury. After World War I， Japan grappled with12 economic inequality. While its newfound hegemony in Asia grew Japan’s industry， farmers and more traditional laborers contended with unstable crops.13 The wealth gap trickled down14 to Japan’s children. Wealthy parents sent their kids to school with shiny bento lunches， neatly packed with nutritious fare15； poor families could no longer afford the once-simple bento. “My mother was older than the other kids’ mothers and she filled my lunch box with tiny， traditional porcelain16 dishes and cups. The other kids had modern lunch boxes with jelly sandwiches and wieners cut to look like bunnies， ”17 writes Gaku Homma in The Folk Art of Japanese Country Cooking. His mother was relieved when the school lunch program began. Initiated in the late 19th Century， the Ministry of Education recommended nutritious meals for all schoolchildren. The school lunch later became standard18 in 1954， during World War II reconstruction. Homma remembers those lunches typically contained a cup of milk， koppepan ， a pat of butter，19 rice， and a bowl of soup. Each kid brought a large cloth napkin to eat on. 20。