bentō box

plural bentō boxes

1. alternativeAlternative form of bento box.

   Home-cooked food is all the more prized by the Japanese, especially in its presentation, whether on the dinner table or in the bentō box (a personalized, compartmentalized lunch box).

   2023, Matthieu Pinon, Laurent Lefebvre, “Thematic Pages”, in A History of Modern Manga (1952–2022), San Rafael, Calif.: Insight Editions, →ISBN, page 180

   2 more examples

   Other bentō boxes are made like Russian dolls: five separate boxes that fit snugly inside one another for storage. The workmanship of bentō boxes shows the pride that their owners placed in these containers and in creating the proper ambiance when taking a prepared meal on trips outside the home.

   2016, Eric C. Rath, “The Making of the Modern Boxed Lunch”, in Japan’s Cuisines: Food, Place and Identity, London: Reaktion Books, →ISBN, page 106

   Without waste or excess, Kōsuke's daily life was one of material sparseness and deep contentedness. […] He made use of empty bentō boxes, and soap and shampoo left by someone at the public bath, repurposed an empty milk carton as a flower vase, and repaired objects that were broken.

   2018, Eiko Maruko Siniawer, “Living the Good Life?”, in Waste: Consuming Postwar Japan, Ithaca, N.Y.; London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, part III (Abundant Dualities: Wealth and Its Discontents in the 1980s and Beyond), pages 200–201