BENTO Spreads Across the World

Mr. Bertrand, you run a specialty store for bento boxes in Kyoto. What inspired you to start it?

I was born in France and came to Kyoto University in 2003 as an exchange student. I initially planned to stay for just that one year, but I fell in love with Kyoto and ended up staying (laughs).

I realized I had to create my own job to continue living in Kyoto. Starting in 2005, I wrote a daily blog in French about life in Kyoto and things about Japan. Thanks to that, my readership grew to about 1,000 people a day.

That's amazing.

That made me wonder if I could start a business, if I could sell good Japanese products. I knew about bento boxes, but I hadn't considered selling them at all. But by chance, during a conversation with my mother, she mentioned, "I saw an article about BENTO in a French magazine." For some reason, I had a gut feeling: "Bento boxes will definitely sell in France." It was a strange idea, even to me.

At the time, there were people blogging about bento in America and France, but no one was selling the boxes. So I thought there was definitely a business opportunity. The timing was perfect. I started in November 2008, right after the Lehman shock. Many people in both America and Europe were cutting back on eating out. In Japan, too, bento boxes sell well during a recession.

About two weeks after the idea came to me, I launched the website. In April 2012, I opened a physical store in Kyoto. We also started wholesale in 2011, and we have now shipped bento boxes to 95 countries.

How many staff members do you have?

We have 13 people now. While our storefront sign says "Bento Box Specialty Store," there are two important aspects to our work. One is marketing. To sell Japanese bento boxes overseas, I believe we have to show customers the value of the product. It's not just about selling bento boxes; it's about selling them because they are good. Just saying "it's made in Japan" isn't enough. We make sure to explain the story behind the bento box, including the artisans and companies that made it.

The other is logistics. After all, we are shipping and selling a physical object called a "bento box."

In your native France, did you ever eat bento?

In France, there is no culture of bento, no lunch boxes for children at all. At school, you either have a school lunch or you go home to eat. France has traditionally had quite long lunch breaks, over an hour. Some people take two hours. So even adults go to restaurants for lunch or drink wine. They're eating almost a full-course meal for lunch.

For the French, lunchtime is a very important time. That's precisely why I think Japan's bento culture is a good fit. It's not just about the taste; the appearance is also important. They want to eat something better than a simple sandwich. I think bento is perfect for French people who want to enjoy their lunch break.

Aren't Japanese bento boxes too small for non-Japanese people?

Yes, slightly larger bento boxes do sell better than in Japan. This is because many people pack salads instead of rice, and salads take up a lot of space. In Japan, the 650 ml size sells well on average, but in France, it's around 900 ml.

That is large.

However, while we initially received many complaints that "the box is too small," we don't get them much anymore. The French have come to understand that bento is about packing food tightly into a small box (laughs).

I have been collecting hanami bento boxes, especially those with Jidai-makie (antique gold lacquer), and have gathered about 360 of them. In recent years, I was fortunate to transfer many of them to Mr. Mas嗣 Hamada (a Keio University alumni), the owner of the famous Ise shop "Akafuku." A portion of the collection is now displayed in a corner of "Noasobi-dana," a company affiliated with "Akafuku."

My main business is in optics; I make industrial lenses. These are special lenses, like the ones for infrared cameras used on highways.

The reason an optics guy like me collects hanami bento boxes is that many of them are hand-painted, with makie made from urushi lacquer. Makie has something in common with optics: it's a culture of polishing techniques. Many Japanese people wear glasses, and making eyeglass lenses requires polishing skills. The lenses for Japan's world-renowned cameras are also mostly made in Japan.

That's certainly true.

The Three Sacred Treasures passed down from ancient times—the magatama bead, the mirror, and the sword—are all born from "polishing." The Japanese are a people who are extremely particular about polishing. This is what enables the creation of various high-quality industrial products like silicon wafers, bearings, and lenses.

Because I also did polishing, I wondered how people in the old days created such a glossy, jet-black world. That's when I decided to start collecting them myself.

I come from an old family, so our storehouse was full of art and craft objects like makie and swords. With each season, we would always air out and rotate the furnishings. As I was made to help take things out of the storehouse, I began to think, "Japanese crafts are so wonderful." After I started my business, I thought, "I want some of these for myself," and began collecting.

I don't particularly specialize in food culture or bento; it's more of a hobby. I was originally interested in the act of moving.

Travel, you mean.

Yes. For example, on a business trip, I was interested in the logistics of what to pack and what to procure locally, the management of it all, and the act of moving with one's belongings.

I was interested in how the Japanese are skilled at packing various things into small spaces and carrying them around, not just with bento. That's what I wrote about in "Obento and the Japanese People."

Mr. Maeda, you also make your own hanami bento boxes. I think making a bento is like creating a kind of universe. Bonsai is like that too. I believe that since ancient times, the Japanese have been creating things with immense depth within a small space.

Exactly as you say. I also collect antiques, and inrō (small cases), sword guards, and so on are all microcosms. A bento box is also a microcosm, capable of stirring all sorts of imagination.

I completely agree.

That's why, although I'm not a big fan of it, you often see bento sold at stations with samples showing "this is what's in this bento." What I like is a bento where you don't know what's inside. With a bento your mother made, you don't know what's inside until you open it. When you open it at school, there's that surprise and excitement of, "Oh, Mom made this for me!" isn't there? If you're shown what's in the bento from the start, it's a bit boring.

A bento shop where you can't see the contents might be interesting. Maybe you can only see the price (laughs).

In America and Belgium, for example, they just carry a sandwich, juice, and fruit as they are, not in a box. So, a lunch box is just a tool for carrying things. In Japan, you have to make something that fits the container; you plan the menu for the container.

I see, so it's different from just putting a pre-formed sandwich in a box for transport.

That's right. In the end, the container might be more important (laughs). I, too, would want to put pasta in a round bento box, or make a donburi bowl in a square one.

When French people eat outside, do they put things like a large loaf of bread wrapped in paper in a backpack? What do they do for side dishes?

For a child's field trip, they'll put a sandwich and salad in a Tupperware container. Then they'll carry a banana and a water bottle separately. So they end up carrying about three boxes.

So it contains things that can be eaten as is, not things that have been processed and cut into small pieces.

That's right. Japanese bento boxes are small, so they're easy to carry. They have dividers, and you can separate them into one, two, or three tiers, so you can pack a full-course meal even in a small box. I think this is a major feature.

Having it separated into three tiers with different things in each must be a surprise. And you don't know until you open it.

The "BENTO BOX" made by the British company "black+blum" has a transparent lid, so you can see the contents. It sells well in Japan too, but some customers say it doesn't feel like a bento if you can see inside (laughs).

Also, recently in Paris, there are many shops where you can eat bento. It's not that the contents are already packed; it's a style where you choose your own side dishes to put in a Shokado-style bento box and eat it in the store.

I see. You pick what you like.

Yes. Also, you can now eat bento in high-end hotels. Through room service. So we often get orders for bento boxes from hotels.

Bento has really come a long way. To rise to that status (laughs). It's become a kind of gourmet cuisine.

Yes, they contain things like tempura and sashimi. Also, at high-end restaurants, you can order bento with Osechi-ryōri (New Year's dishes).

It might be interesting to ask Michelin to award two or three stars to bento (laughs).

I collect hanami bento boxes, but I believe that a tool is only a tool when it's used, not just collected.

For Keio's 50th graduation anniversary, my classmates and I gathered at Shinjuku Gyoen and enjoyed an Edo-period hanami bento. It was in a katsugi-bako, a large box with metal fittings where you insert a pole. In the old days, servants would carry several of these strung together, heaving them along. We actually used such a katsugi-bako hanami bento as a lunch box.

So it can become part of the interior decor.

That's right. Japanese bento boxes combine both practicality and artistry.

I found that practical aspect—the part where it's a durable and easy-to-use tool for office workers and children to carry every day—to be very interesting.

Today's convenience store bento are all heated up before eating, right? But in the past, it wasn't so easy to heat up a bento, so even if it was warm in the morning when it was made, it would be cold by the time you ate it. What I found most interesting is the practice of making food that is delicious even when cold.

That's certainly true.

Bento is fundamentally a cold meal, yet it's beautifully packed in a box. It's that balance. In other words, you don't feel sad even if it's cold. The appearance contributes to this, and you can also sense who made it from within this small box. That's probably why it can be enjoyed even when cold.

You feel something warm even if it's cold.

Yes, I thought that was very well done.

In Europe, are packed lunches also generally cold?

A long time ago in France, there was something called a *gamelle*. It doesn't have a very good image; it was about putting leftovers in a round stainless steel container, heating it over a fire, and eating it with a spoon. It's the kind of thing they ate in Napoleon's army. The word *gamelle* is also used for a dog's bowl.

Is that so?

With bento, both appearance and taste are important. Recently, bento boxes that can be heated have become very popular. The bento boxes that are selling well now are also microwave-safe.

Originally, French people didn't eat directly from the box. They would bring food in a Tupperware container to work, take it out at lunchtime, put it on a plate, and heat it up.

So they don't eat it as is.

Right. Eating from the box was unthinkable. This is because using a knife and fork would scratch the box. With bento, the food is cut into bite-sized pieces from the start.

The folklorist Kunio Yanagita once said something like this: "We tend to think that the cause of a current event lies in the immediate past, but that's not the case. The cause can be found one year ago, 10 years ago, 50 years ago, 100 years ago, and by extension, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 years ago."

As for where bento originated, it began when rice was introduced to Japan. According to a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture, there are artifacts called plant opals from the late Jomon period that show traces of rice plants. Rice cultivation flourished in the Yayoi period. Today's rice is indeed delicious even when cold. This is thanks to Japonica rice (a chopstick culture). If it had been Indica rice (a hand-eating culture), I don't think Japan's bento culture would have blossomed. Chopstick culture makes one dexterous.

That might be true.

Japonica rice is sticky. That component is the reason why the rice in bento is delicious even when cold.

I think there are two modern factors behind the development of bento. One is the popularization of automatic rice cookers. When I was little, my mother cooked rice on a gas stove. There was no such thing as setting it the night before and having rice ready the next morning (laughs).

And the other is the microwave oven. You can't use metal containers because they would spark. Some Tupperware-like containers can be used. The spread of these two has been significant.

The influence of the microwave is huge, isn't it? It became popular in France because it could be used in the microwave, right?

That's right.

A lacquered bento box would be ruined instantly if you put it in the microwave (laughs).

But occasionally, we get requests from customers who want to use a *magewappa* (bentwood) box in the microwave. While not a genuine *magewappa*, there are wooden items that are microwave-safe.

In France, do people often put rice in their bento?

Yes. They certainly eat rice. However, it's not Japonica, but a slightly long-grain rice from Italy, southern France, or America. In France, rice and pasta are considered the same thing. In Japan, you're often asked, "Bread or rice?" but that's unthinkable over there (laughs). Water, a fork, a knife, and bread are all part of the set; bread is absolutely essential.

In France, rice is boiled. Just like pasta, you add a lot of water and salt and boil it thoroughly.

So you boil it, not steam it.

That's right. Like pasta, they eat it with a bit of butter and a sprinkle of salt. It's usually served with fish dishes.

Recently, rice cookers are being sold in Europe, and some people have started steaming rice. But they don't have the amazing rice cookers we have in Japan.

Besides bento boxes, products for onigiri (rice balls) are also popular with foreigners. Things like cases for onigiri.

I went to France six months ago, and when I went to a supermarket, they were selling "Koshihikari" and "Sasanishiki."

People who like Japanese culture are making onigiri. Because it's easy to make. They're happy because they can live a life like a Japanese person. When I was a child, I watched Japanese anime, and they were eating onigiri in "Dragon Ball." I had no idea what it was back then; I thought it was meringue wrapped in chocolate (laughs).

Was it after you came to Japan that you first ate onigiri and rice?

Yes. At first, I thought Japanese rice didn't have much flavor. That's because in France, we eat rice with sauces from fish or meat. Also, and this might just be my family, but I put lemon on my rice.

What?!

I love it (laughs). Salt and lemon are my favorites. I think it goes quite well with Japanese rice, but I've stopped doing it recently (laughs). You really have to study taste. Over the past 10 years, I've eaten a lot of Japanese food, and the number of things I find to be "incredibly delicious!" has increased.

For some reason, conversations about bento always get lively. Like how your mom made it for you when you went to school as a child, or how you were embarrassed comparing it with your friends' (laughs). Everyone has all sorts of memories, don't they?

They certainly do.

The bento box itself is important, but I think it serves as a trigger for all kinds of communication.

After I published this book, a colleague suddenly struck up a conversation with me (laughs). He's an older male professor, and he apparently has very strong memories. As I listened, it was essentially a story about his relationship with his mother. It was a conversation about bento, but it made him recall his relationship with his mother who made them for him. That's what bento is like.

I started taking a bento to school around junior high, when Japan was beginning its post-war economic growth. But there was a gap between the rich and the poor. It was a public school, but there were many kids who would hide their lunch with the lid while they ate.

That kind of bento still leaves a strong impression on me. That's why I have a strong desire for bento boxes to be luxurious and for lunch to be an enjoyable experience. Bento also makes you remember the era you lived through.

It's true, bento is completely different depending on the era.

Our generation, on the other hand, was from a time when our parents just wanted to make sure their children had plenty to eat. We were raised with an abundance of food, with the sentiment of "at least with food..." so I think our generation has a relatively positive image of bento.

In our time, the only ready-made bento you could buy were ekiben (station bento). There were no convenience stores.

It was really with convenience stores that buying bento became widespread.

France doesn't have convenience stores. There are small supermarkets, though.

Starting this March, a JR East promotional train sold ekiben in Paris. The contents were all Japanese food, and they were sold at Gare de Lyon in Paris. It was a huge success.

Japanese ekiben sell local specialty products, don't they? Is it the same in France?

I wish it were. The food on the French TGV is not good (laughs). Since it's Paris, I think if they could make a bento that's delicious even when cold using Parisian ingredients, it would be very popular.

A hanami bento is something you eat together with several people, isn't it? It's different from a convenience store bento that you eat alone.

That's right. The crucial difference with hanami bento is that the ones for large groups always come with a sake container. There are enough plates for everyone, but only one sake cup. This is always the case. The reason is that passing a single cup around for everyone to drink from signifies, "We are comrades. We are in this together, with a strong bond." To that end, they pass the cup and drink from a single one.

I see.

In my collection, there are none with two sake cups. No matter how many people are eating, there is only one sake cup. The hanami bento is imbued with a meaning that goes beyond just "having a meal."

Do the shapes of bento boxes differ by region in Japan?

The way the lacquer is applied might differ by location, but the shapes don't vary much. However, there are differences in materials. Also, depending on social status, for example, a noble person would use one made of silver or with incredible makie. Someone of lower status would use a simple bamboo bento box, made by cutting Moso bamboo in half. It's a simple bento box that lumberjacks and others would attach to their waists when going into the mountains.

You know the word "hanpamono" (half-wit/incomplete person). It is said to come from "han-han-mono" (half-rice person), meaning a poor worker was only allowed to eat from the half-bamboo container.

Is that so.

In your book, Mr. Kato, you wrote that "you leave one bite of your bento. Then, if an evil spirit appears, it will eat that bite and retreat." That is also true.

There's another reason for leaving one bite. If you get lost, that last bite you saved could help you survive. When hunters or lumberjacks in the mountains returned home safely, they would offer that one bite to the gods and express their gratitude, saying, "I have returned safely." An old *matagi* (traditional hunter) told me that this kind of spirituality also exists in Japanese bento boxes (laughs).

I heard there's a bento box that only exists in Tokushima Prefecture.

Ah, the *yusan-bako*. Girls receive it when they turn seven. It still exists today. It's always decided to be three-tiered.

I heard that there are no artisans who can make them now, so they've become less common recently.

Yes, so it seems the tradition has become for daughters to inherit the ones their mothers used. But recently, they're being re-evaluated, and it seems some places are starting to have *yusan-bako* parties.

In a *yusan-bako*, one of the tiers contains sweets. The girls enjoy them while playing excitedly in the fields. After all, bento is something fun; it's for *hare* (special occasions), not *ke* (everyday life). Bento boxes are only used for *hare* occasions.

Mr. Bertrand, do you design bento boxes yourself?

I do sometimes. We have about 10 original designs now, and I often propose them to plastic manufacturers.

The manufacturer is in Yamanaka, Ishikawa Prefecture. They used to make lacquered bowls, but in the 80s, they stopped making lacquerware and started making bento boxes. In Kaga's Yamanaka Onsen, there are companies that make molds and plastic companies, so everything can be made there.

Artisans make them one by one, so even though they are plastic bento boxes, a lot of effort goes into them. Our best-selling product is a bento box made in that Kaga region. It's plastic, but the quality is high.

Are plastic ones the best sellers?

Yes, that's the same as in Japan. They're easy to handle and easy to wash.

And they don't break if you drop them.

We also sell wooden bento boxes, and the ones from Aizu Kogei sell well. And then there's *magewappa*.

*Magewappa* is made from Akita cedar, so the number that can be made each year is fixed. They harvest trees that are about 100 years old, let them sit for a year, and then make the boxes, so it's very labor-intensive. But collectors from overseas will say, "I want a *magewappa* made by this specific artisan."

Foreigners are paying a lot of attention to *magewappa* now. For example, if you put ice in a metal wine cooler to chill wine, condensation forms on the outside, right? With *magewappa*, it doesn't.

When you put rice inside, it absorbs the steam, making it delicious. In the old days, cooked rice was transferred from the pot to a wooden rice container (*ohitsu*), right? It's the same principle.

That's right.

When I went back to France, I went to a three-star restaurant, and they had various types of bread served in an *ohitsu*. It's functional, of course, but incorporating a little something Japanese makes it look stylish.

That is stylish, indeed.

For foreigners, the appeal is that "this is a one-of-a-kind piece made by an artisan." This might not resonate as much with Japanese people.

That's precisely why it's also an opportunity for the artisans who make bento boxes.

Today, the number of *urushi-kaki* artisans who harvest lacquer is decreasing. Also, the number of people who make the *urushi-kaki* knives for harvesting lacquer is also dwindling. Before the war, Japan had over 10,000 tons of lacquer, but now I think domestic lacquer production is only a few tons. If you write "japan" in lowercase, it means lacquerware. We must cherish this "japan."

There are few *wappa* artisans now, right? In the past, *wappa* was considered cheap compared to lacquerware. Now, a *wappa* bento box can cost tens of thousands of yen. The cheapest start at 8,000 yen and go up to about 30,000 yen. At our store, too, customers wait about three to six months after ordering. We also get orders from Japanese customers.

The scent of that wood is wonderful. The seams of a *wappa* are stitched with the bark of a mountain cherry tree, but the bark can only be harvested during the summer. They thread the cherry bark strip and pull it tight. That itself becomes part of the visual pattern. If you ask me, this is the essence of Japanese sensibility and aesthetic.

There are many good things about bento, but along with being inexpensive, there's the health aspect. When you eat out, the salt content is often high, and you worry about additives. In that sense, I think bento is very good for your health.

Of course it's healthy, and I also think it's very good for society. Buying ingredients from scratch and making your own bento is a very eco-friendly act. It's also good for agriculture. If everyone ate convenience store bento, it wouldn't be very eco-friendly. It also creates plastic waste.

"Shokuiku" (food education) is often talked about in schools now. "Food is culture," right? Children are learning not just about cooking, but also how the ingredients—the vegetables, the rice—are produced.

Yes, in France, there's an event called "la Semaine du Goût" (Week of Taste). It's started to be held in Japan as well. For one week, school lunches across the country feature a special menu. The menu is designed by famous chefs and uses vegetables from nearby farms. In class, they also teach children about how these ingredients are made and the taste of ingredients not normally served in school lunches.

That's wonderful.

They also hold bento contests at such times. I think bento fits very well with that kind of culture.

I'm so happy that you're not just introducing bento culture, but Japanese food culture as a whole.

Of course, we sell bento boxes, but sometimes in interviews, I get asked, "Do you just love bento boxes?" Not really (laughs). What I really love is food. And I want Japanese people, too, to use bento boxes more and to value the act of cooking.