Kyaraben

A kyaraben containing rice balls decorated to resemble pandas

Kyaraben or charaben (キャラ弁^?), a shortened form of character bento (キャラクター弁当, kyarakutā bentō^?), is a style of elaborately arranged bento which features food decorated to look like people, characters from popular media, animals, and plants.^[1] Japanese homemakers often spend time devising their families' meals,^[2] including their boxed lunches.

Originally, a decorated bento was intended to interest children in their food and to encourage a wider range of eating habits. It has now evolved to the point where national contests are held.^[3]

In popular culture

• Kyaraben lunchboxes are a major plot element in Bento Monogatari, a 2011 short film by Belgian director Pieter Dirkx

See also

• Ekiben
• Bentō
• Makunouchi

References

1. ^ Super Sied (2008-05-10). "Kyaraben: Japanese Character Lunch Boxes". Weird Asia News. http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/05/10/kyaraben-bento-box/. Retrieved 2008-10-07. 
2. ^ http://timefordinner.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/dude-wheres-my-food-nobu-los-angeles/
3. ^ Itoh, Makiko (2009-07-10). "The 3rd Sanrio Charaben (Kyaraben) Contest Winners are Announced". Just Bento. http://justbento.com/3rd-sanrio-charaben-kyaraben-contest-winners-are-announced. Retrieved 2009-09-18. 

External links

• Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Charaben (and Other Food)