ABSTRACT
Japanese nursery school children, going off to school for the fi rst time, carry with them a boxed lunch ( obento¯ ) prepared by their mothers at home. Customarily these obento¯s are highly crafted elaborations of food: a multitude of miniature portions, artistically designed and precisely arranged, in a container that is sturdy and cute. Mothers tend to expend inordinate time and attention on these obento¯s in efforts both to please their children and to affi rm that they are good mothers. Children at nursery school are taught in turn that they must consume their entire meal according to school rituals.
