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Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes

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Christopher D. Salyers introduces us to an art form little known outside of Japan in this beautiful little book FACE FOOD. He spent time in Tokyo investigating this curiosity about the manner in which Japanese children take their lunch to school. What he has explored is a tradition of food preparation dating back to the Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333), a time when the Bento Boxes (`charaben') were first created.

As with so many aspects of living in the Japanese view - from floral arrangements to tea ceremonies and flamboyant sushi preparation for hungry audiences at a sushi bar - the mothers of school children take great pride in creating little artworks out of the lunchbox items we usually just wrap in waxed paper. The foods are sculpted and arranged to form pictures: vegetable slices, fish cakes, cheese, eggs, fruits and, of course, rice are juxtaposed to resemble children's favorite popular cartoon characters or simply fantasy arrangements. And what Salyers brings to this collection of color photographs of the charaben creations is a social background of the mothers who gather to prepare these FOOD FACES, vying for the most inspired as well as the most nutritional product!

The bulk of this book is devoted to photographs of the Bento Boxes, with the menu contained in each collection explained as well as the culinary `artist' being credited. Not only is this a fascinating little book to read and enjoy, it is also yet another art form that few of us in the West know. Perhaps we should take a hint at viewing sculpted food products as replacement for our fast food laziness - and at the same time find the pleasure in creating nutritional works for the children to proudly carry to school! Grady Harp, March 08

If you need recipes and cooking guides this is NOT your book. There are many other books with recipes (Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go, and Manga University Culinary Institute's: Manga Cookbook both come to mind), and many groups (like eat_my_bento on livejournal) just waiting to help you figure out how to make bento. What this book offers is inspiration; Stunning, unbelievable, "how did they DO that" inspiration.

Focusing on "character bento" this book is full of pictures of theme bento boxes. From the simple and "easy to picture myself doing" box depicting three little pigs (the pigs are rice balls with ham ears and noses)to the Disney Cinderella who is depicted with enough realism (in ham and cheese and spices) to look like a licensed image!

there are NO instructions given on how to duplicate these bento Boxes. the only "instructions" are for the two line drawings in the back by the author suggesting a "Pac Man" and starry sky scene bento box. The ingredient listing given for each box is helpful, but doesn't tell you what is being used in which area of the design. This book is mostly useful for inspiring you to try something a bit beyond the "hot dog octopus" of the typical bento box.

This is a good book if you like to look at pictures of completed bento's. It is very small, almost pocket sized. Some of the ideas are very clever. However if you require any sort of instruction--either cooking or assembly wise this is not the book for you. It is a nice addition to my collection but I have found it pretty useless.

I saw this particular cookbook when I went to Epocot (In the Japenese section). I considered buying this cookbook, but steaded for the soymilk cookbook; mostly because this cookbook has almost no directions on how to create this cool, edible art (2 linearts don't really count..) Very interesting; if only it taught us how to create such works of art!

There are many blogs of people who create delightful little obento (Japanese lunchbox) food and this is a fun form of art that orignated with little snack boxes available at theater in Japan.

But now, people have taken this food to a real artform. Imagine a Manga character or a Pokemon created in carrot, salmon, radish and other foods that is so realistic, it takes you aback. Someone is going to have to make a decision; eat that little lunch or just gaze at its perfection! The designs in this small format book are phenomenal. A snowman, a Geisha, complete with kimono and landscape in background.

If you enjoy making your own bento creations, or if you like Japanese pop culture, this is a delightful little book. Note that it is not an instruction book or recipe guide; you would have to figure out how these edible art ideas are done yourself. Good gift for a chef or someone who is fascinated by the arts of Japan.

Food as Art is no new concept, but when some of the Japanese mothers who created this book's most beautiful obento will attest, obento are not made for you! The labor of love that goes into a bento box meal is for a parent's child and it is for the child's desires that these amazing and intricate designs are created. Not only are they nutritional and include the requisite rice, they are personalized for every child. When one father,Takupapa, was given as an example of the rare father who creates obento for his child, we can see how strong the Japanese value family above all else.

The photographs of complete bento box meals are tummy growl-inducing and very easy on the eyes. Although ingredients are listed with the photos, there are no real directions for creating your own obento. That is no surprise, for only practice can teach you how to create obento . The stories shared in the book are in their own way inspirational, as we learn that mothers do not necessarily compete with each other to make the superior obento, but rather, they share ideas and tips in order to create the best obento for their children.

Obento is becoming more and more popular in America with the rise in healthier eating habits and the need for convenient meals. Americans may not be up to par with the Japanese when it comes to intricate meals served in convenient boxes, personalized per the eater's whims, but give us a few years and we will be that much closer to becoming a part of the obento culture!

Pretty pictures...lots of them. (Though I did expect them to be in high gloss, not just printed on the page - The colors seem muted.)
Not practical for actually reconstructing said Bentos, there are no directions (other than for some cheesy "beginner" ones in the appendix.) Under a picture of your desired character it will simply say "ham, eggs, nori, fishcake, rice, cucumber. . ." you have to figure out what made what. Amazing pictures, though! Enough so that I don't own this book yet (sat in Barnes and Noble and perused it for 30 minutes) but I intend to make it one of my next purchases.

Before I had read this book, I had heard and seen a little bit about the Bento box phenomenon but didn't know much about it. Christopher Salyers book is an open window into the culture of Japan, families and food. The book is a great combination of stories and pictures.

Some photos of the Bento boxes are accompanied by a story revealing the creators reasons for doing them. All have a list of the ingredients used to make them. At the end of the book are a few different recipes for creating your own Bento boxes.

This is another great photo book that lets you in to a culture that we sometimes don't fully understand or acknowledge. I found this book fascinating and I had wished it was a bit longer and had more stories in it. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

FACE FOOD: THE VISUAL CREATIVITY OF JAPANESE BENTO BOXES could just as easily have been featured in our 'Arts' section: it's a fun little collection pairing color photos of creative Japanese bento box lunches with listings of the ingredients which go into them. Each bento box features 'food art' shaped into various figures that creatively fit into the small food boxes. Any library strong in food art displays will find it an unusual, inviting key to creating food art in smaller spaces than is normally featured.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I am astounded at the creativity displayed in the pages of this book. Some of the food show within its pages are indeed "too lovely to eat". I never cease to be amazed at the creativity that some people have in preparing a dish and having the level of artistry to make it look so beautiful, whimsical and appealing!