As a child, a cheese sandwich, an apple and perhaps a biscuit or two was more than fancy enough for a five year old who cared much more about Lego than the look of his lunch. A view apparently not shared by young Japanese kids of today, or more accurately their mothers, who seem to see the humble lunchbox as much more a means of expression than merely something edible.
Osaka housewife Miho Tsukamoto explaining the oeuvre by observing, “This is rather about my pride. My son boasts about my cooking to his friends, so I can’t stop doing this.”
A statement that was also supported by Kazumi Shimomura (pictured above) whilst working away on her current creation; a design based on one of her son’s dinosaur drawings. “I never make the same thing twice. I just think about what to make next time.”
A painstaking task that often sees slivers of carrot become crabs and Mickey Mouse materialise from seaweed, sesame seeds and a section of sweet potato — perhaps. Such dedication meaning that the day starts very early indeed for some Japanese housewives, although Shimomura-san declined to disclose what time she rose to finish her rumoured radish-based recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper last week.
