Bento Boxes - a form of communication

I was still up at 3am last night, and had switched on the tv, and to my delight there was a programme on in English! It was about bento-boxes. In Japan, mothers prepare these lunchboxes for their children to take to school. A lot of thought and imagination goes into these meals because the child must have a different well balanced meal everyday. The bento-box is actually a sign of how much the mother is perceievd to love the child. One mother who was interviewed on the show, said that the lunchbox is an important form of communication between her and her child. If her daughter brings home an empty box, she is happy because then she knows her child enjoyed it. However, another mother pointed out how difficult it can be to create these miniature meals for kids, because there are so many foods they dislike.

The pressure on mothers can be immense. A child may be teased at school if their lunchbox is not up to scratch, and teachers have been known to have a discreet word with such irresponsible mothers. As a result, mothers often attend special cooking classes to get tips and recipes for creating perfect bento-boxes, and the market for bento cookery books is huge. Apparently there should be 5 basic colours in a bento-box: white - which represents carbohydrates (usually rice), black - for minerals (maybe seaweed), red and green - which are vegetables and fruit and yellow - which represents protein (often fish, chicken or egg.) There should be between 4 and 7 tiny, individual snacks inside the box. Many of these can be time consuming to make. On the tv show we see a bento-chef teaching mothers how to make such things as a seaweed, bean and rice heart shaped treat. Last nights pasta salad in a paper cup baked for a few minutes and topped with cheese, and a special weiner ring. The cocktail sausage must be sliced almost all the way through in 8 places and then placed in a ring shape and deep-fried to retain the shape. Then two soy beans are place in the centre. The food must be well presented. Some kids are lucky enough to get 'hello kitty' rice balls and hard-boiled eggs with faces on. The bento-boxes for special occassions such as birthdays and picnics are more like works of art, requring many hours of preparation.

The importance placed on healthy eating in Japan is quite amazing compared to the UK, but what I found fascinating was the feeling that food forms a bond between members of the family. I think this is an ancient and fundamental aspect of all human interaction and communication and one that is neglected in the west. However, I do not envy the role of the Japanese mother.