The Katachiware bento box collection gets its inspiration from traditional Japanese lunch boxes. Still, it draws its attention to the Shokado bento created before World War II by Teiichi Yuki, a famous chef in Japan. He was visiting the Shokado Tea Houses in Kyoto where he noticed an example of the Shokado Shojo calligraphy box.

Shokado was a renown Buddhist priest that made the box to carry his tobacco and calligraphy tools. Mr Yuki inspired by the box’s beauty that he developed a similar one that was lacquered and partitioned into four sections used to serve the shokado bento. The idea took off as it was easy to serve meals during large events and became even more famous for tea ceremony meals and cherry blossom viewing parties. Since then, the shokado bento has become more graceful, and the Katachiware collection continues with the traditional.

Bento Box (弁当) History begins in Japan, early in the Kamakura Period where they traditionally contained a serving of rice or noodles with fish, meat or chicken and the main course was accompanied by cooked or pickled vegetables. Today they are mostly mass-produced in a disposable plastic and also available in bamboo, camphor wood, ABS resin plastic with a melamine coating and wood hand-crafted in a lacquerware finish. In Japan they are found in railway stations, department stores and fast-food shops that specifically serve meals.

Bento Box History, From 1185 to 2021 bento can be traced back to the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). Japanese packed their lunch to take to work, hunting, fishing, or waging war they carried parcels of packed food to eat the go. These portable meals would commonly include foods such as white rice, millet or potatoes.

Get the most out of the Katachiware collection we highly recommend taking a few extra steps to take care of the products to last a lifetime. Like all products made from wood or lacquered tableware products, we suggest washing most components with a soft damp cloth. For products made from abs resin soak them in warm soapy water for 15 minutes. Then remove excess foods or stains with a soft damp cloth, towel dry and store on a flat dry surface.

For products made from wood or bamboo, excess water can deteriorate the wood fibres and glues. Wood is biodegradable which will soak up moisture, so we suggest removing any remaining excess foods with a soft damp cloth rinsed in warm soapy water. Then towel-dry each component and stack them in an assembled format in a dry ventilated area. Do not immerse wooden products in water or allow pools to accumulate. For stubborn stains, mix a small amount of salt or baking soda to the damp cloth to “gently” clean the surface.

If you are located in Australia and would like to calculate delivery charges, simply add your products to your cart and proceed through to the checkout. You will see an option to estimate delivery charges. Enter your postcode and select the state that you are in. If you are happy to proceed with your order complete the checkout process. Please ensure your address and orders are correct before finalising at checkout. Once the order is dispatched we are unable to make changes to the order.

It is important you receive an item which meets your expectations so if you are not sure before purchasing from our website please call to discuss and we will help you with your selection. If you change your mind and are seeking an exchange, refund or credit for a stock return, the freight will be at the purchaser’s expense and refund will be assessed once the unused goods have been returned. We always aim to ensure all purchases are in good condition when packed and posted. In the unlikely event you do receive a damaged or faulty item please contact us within 7 days of receipt of your order. Refund will be available in the instance of all major faults/defects as per Australian Consumer Law. Should you receive damaged stock generally we ask you to email a photograph of the item along with the packaging and delivery label for our review.