Japanese lunchbox (o-bento)?

May 2021 3 62 Report

Japanese lunchbox (o-bento)?

To people living in Japan:

This is a silly question, but I am really curious... You must have noticed that the Japanese bento almost always has a red/reddish pickled plum (umeboshi) on top of the (white) rice. Is that supposed to look like the hinomaru? I just saw a cooking program on a Japanese channel and the reporter made a comment that suggested this.

Travel / Asia Pacific / Japan

Anonymous

Verified answer

I don't see them called that lately maybe because of right wingers but a few years back the bento with white rice and a umeboshi in the middle were named a "Hinomaru Bento".

Found this on Wikipedia!!

Hinomaru bento (日の丸) was the name for a bento consisting of plain white rice with an umeboshi in the centre. The Hinomaru bento takes its name from the Hinomaru, the Japanese flag, which has a white background with a red circle in the centre. These bento were common in during the second World War, both because of the scarcity of food and the desire to and necessity of avoiding displays of excess while maintaining an image of stout patriotism.