The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno will be holding a hands-on, interactive exhibition, "BENTO: Design for Eating, Gathering, and Connecting," from July 21 to October 8, examining bento from the perspective of communication design.


Bento are deeply rooted in our lives. Bento, a communal meal eaten with others, such as picnic lunches, has played an important role in Japan's ancient agricultural society as a social tool for maintaining and deepening local communities and ceremonial occasions. Each single bento, made by someone for someone else, tells a story connecting the maker and the eater, and can be considered a gift from the maker to the eater. The exhibition will look at "obento," a food culture unique to Japan that connects people, from the perspective of communication design, creating a space where visitors can experience and discover its appeal for themselves. Based on the theme of communication design revealed through "obento," the exhibition will feature playful bento boxes with unique designs from the Edo period, installations by contemporary artists, and participatory works.

《Ayumi Shokudo's Lunch Box》2017 Cooking: Oshio Ayumi, Photography: Hirano Taro
One of the highlights is a new animation work by "fermentation designer" Ogura Hiraku, with an easy-to-hear melody, lyrics and choreography that naturally helps you understand bento better as you sing and dance. The friendly characters make an appearance, reminding visitors of all genders and ages of bento.

There will also be a work that focuses on the communication that "bento" generates. In response to letters from readers saying "I want to make a bento like this for so-and-so," Oshio Ayumi makes the bento, Hirano Taro takes the photos, and the reader receives the recipe and bento box, in the project "Ayumi Diner's Bento." We will also introduce "Hiruke," a work by photographer Abe Ryo, a "bento hunter" who is also famous for his work on the NHK program "Salameshi," in which the image of people silently eating their bento makes us think about the relationship between the person eating it and the person who made it.

Toru Oyamada, "Dad's Lunch Box," 2017
Toru Oyamada will exhibit "Dad's Lunch Box," an archive of the daily bento-making he does with his family. His older sister, an elementary school student, writes instructions for making bento for her younger brother, who attends nursery school, and Oyamada, the father, makes them. The themes depicted in the instructions, such as the eruption of Sakurajima, meandering rivers, and crescent lakes, are sometimes inspired by books read before bed or plants and insects spotted on walks.

Yasuhiro Moriuchi conducted a workshop in which junior high school students created a documentary film of themselves making bento without parental help, and will exhibit this project as a video work.

Image sketch for Marie Vogelsang's "Intangible Bento"

The exhibition will also feature participatory works that look at the familiar bento from a different perspective. Marie Vogelsang, a leading figure in this field and a Dutch-based eating designer, has portrayed the "intangible and invisible" aspects of the bento - such as the connections between people, memories and visions of the future - as vivid stories, inviting visitors into these tales.

Kitazawa Jun views bento boxes as a tool for freely creating a space of communication using the box and fabric, and has created a unique space within the museum called "Osusowake Yokocho" to consider the mindset of "sharing" bento boxes. A laboratory-like space has emerged where visitors can examine, reflect, and rediscover bento boxes.

Kitazawa Jun "FRAGMENTS PASSAGE - Osusowake Yokocho" Concept Sketch, 2018
Other exhibits include uniquely designed bento boxes from the Edo period used for communal dining such as banquets, single-portion bento boxes designed for different eating situations, and bento boxes from around the world. This exhibition focuses on bento boxes as products designed for a specific purpose.

Related events include a "Kids' Day" specially opened for children on closed days for parents and children to enjoy together, as well as a program where you can enjoy the exhibition together with the artists. This is a hands-on, hands-on exhibition that is fun for both adults and families, where you can see, hear, touch and experience the connections that bento can create.