Japan’s masukomi — what the news media is called here, from “mass communications” — loves attaching labels to budding social trends, and it can be fun to see how these unfold over time. The media loves to follow the so-called “herbivorification” of Japan’s current generation of males, pointing out how they’re less ambitious than the previous generation, less interested in pursuing females or purchasing an expensive automobile. In recent years there’s been an upswing in men who take a more active interest in the care and education of their children, a phenomenon dubbed ikumen (“education men”), a pun on the word ikemen (lit. “men with handsome faces”). In a related development, an increasing number of fathers are taking an interest in making bento for their children, ensuring that they eat healthy meals and using it as a communication tool between father and kids. The trend has been dubbed “Bento Papa” by the media — which is slightly odd because that’s the name of Pope Benedict XVI in Portuguese, but I digress. If you’re interested in learning more about bento culture, we’ve got a few products for you to browse.
“Bento Dads” are taking an interest in making bento.
