"Bento" (written 弁当) or "Obento" (お弁当) = A Japanese meal that is packed into a box; in other words, a Japanese lunchbox.
However, the focus of a 'thorough and balanced' meal is the main purpose of a bento lunch. Bentos are also sometimes slightly different in terms of visual aesthetics - these highly decorated, 'art' bentos (which is what this post is mainly about) are called: 'kyaraben' (キャラ弁) or 'entaatein-bento ' (えんたあていん弁当) <- (p.s. I am not sure how correct this is - I used hiragana for the 'entaatein' part, so basically it's just how you pronounce it, I do not know of the kanji itself yet)
The traditional Japanese is very health-conscious and their meals always consist of balance and variety. In addition, the variety of 'bento art' that are created (The Japanese believe that we 'eat with our eyes' too, aside from touch, taste and smell) - could explain why the bento box is an increasing favourite of home-cooked lunchboxes.
