Bibliography

Organized alphabetically, by section.

Note: Figures are referenced with names, dates, descriptions, and sourced links (as available) in caption or metadata of each figure.

Section 1: Putting the “Eki” in Ekibento

Atsushi, Kawai. October 13, 2022. “Express Train to Industrialization: Japan’s First Railway Line.” Nippon.com. Accessed April 26, 2026,https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b06911/.

Cang, Voltaire. 2018. “Japan’s Washoku as Intangible Heritage: The Role of National Food Traditions in UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage Scheme” in International Journal of Cultural Property. 25(4):491-513. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739118000267

Cwiertka, Katarzyna. 2018. “Serving the Nation: The Myth of Washoku,” in Consuming Life in Post-Bubble Japan: A Transdisciplinary Perspective, edited by Katarzyna J. Cwiertka and Ewa Machotka, 89–106. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Hani, Yoko. January 5, 2003. “Japan’s Own Meals on Wheels.” The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2003/01/05/general/japans-own-meals-on-wheels/

Hood, Christopher P. 2010. “The Shinkansen’s Local Impact” in Social Science Japan Journal 13(2): 211–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40961264.

Hood, Christopher P. 2006. Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan. Oxfordshire: Routledge.

Kirk, Stan. September 7, 2025. “Life in Post-War Japan,” in Roy Uyeda’s Life History as a Japanese Canadian Exile, by Disover Nikkei. https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/9/7/roy-uyeda-4/

Nickelsburg, Jerry, Saurabh Ahluwalia, and Yang Yang. 2020. “High-Speed Rail, Urbanisation, and Housing Affordability: Evidence from the Shinkansen System” in Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 54(4): 267–88. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27106109.

Noguchi, Paul. 1994. “Savor Slowly: Ekiben, the Fast Food of High-Speed Japan” in Ethnology (33)4: 317–30. https://doi.org/10.2307/3773902.

Thuong, Le T. 1982. “Government Railroading, Japanese Style” in Transportation Journal 22(2): 21-31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20712714.

Seligman, Lucy. 1994. “The History of Japanese Cuisine,” in Japan Quarterly 41(2): 165-178.

Shimomae, Tetsuo. 2022. Birth of the Shinkansen: The Origin Story of the World-First Bullet Train. Singapore: Springer Singapore.

Spring Special Issue: Enjoying Japan’s Spring by Local Trains. “Exploring Japan’s Spring Aboard Local Train Lines” in Highlighting Japan215: 6. https://www.gov-online.go.jp/en/assets/hj_spring_special_issue_2026_p6-9.pdf

Section 2: Good Things Come in Small Packages

Bestor, Theodore and Victoria Lyon Bestor. 2011. “Cuisine and Identity in Contemporary Japan” in Education About Asia 16(3): 13-18. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11639566

Hani, Yoko. January 5, 2003. “Japan’s Own Meals on Wheels.” The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2003/01/05/general/japans-own-meals-on-wheels/

Hashimoto, Atsuko. and David Telfer. 2019. “Ekiben, the Traveling Japanese Lunchbox: Promoting Regional Development and Local Identity Through Food Tourism,” in Food Tourism in Asia, edited by E. Park et al., 103-122. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3624-9_8

Kamekura, Junichi, et al. 1989. Ekiben: The Art of the Japanese Box Lunch. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Knecht, Peter. 2007. “Rice Representations and Reality,” in Asian Folklore Studies 66(1/2): 5–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30030448.

Matsumoto, Toshimichi. 2000. “Ekiben: Japan’s Savory Train Fare,” in Japan Quarterly 47(1): 65-75. Accessed via Proquest on April 26, 2026.

Nippon.com Japan Guide (1). February 9, 2024. “Award-Winning Boxed Lunches from Japan’s Railway Bentō Grand Prix.” Nippon.com. https://www.nippon.com/en/news/l00321/

Nippon.com Japan Guide (2). November 19, 2024. “JR’s Fall 2024 “Ekiben” Line-up and a Look at the Boxed Train Meal Hall of Fame.” Nippon.com. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/h02152/.

Noguchi, Paul. 1994. “Savor Slowly: Ekiben, the Fast Food of High-Speed Japan” in Ethnology (33)4: 317–30. https://doi.org/10.2307/3773902.

Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. 1995. “Structure, Event and Historical Metaphor: Rice and Identities in Japanese History,” in The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 1(2): 227-253. https://doi.org/10.2307/3034687.

Richie, Donald. 1985. A Taste of Japan: Food, Fact, and Fable; What the People Eat; Customs and Etiquette. Tokyo: Kodansha USA.

Seligman, Lucy. 1994. “The History of Japanese Cuisine,” in Japan Quarterly 41(2): 165-178.

Wells, Patricia. July 18, 1982. “Japan’s Fast Food.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/18/travel/l-japan-s-fast-food-016312.html

Section 3: Terroir on the Tracks

Hani, Yoko. January 5, 2003. “Japan’s Own Meals on Wheels.” The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2003/01/05/general/japans-own-meals-on-wheels/

Kamekura, Junichi, et al. 1989. Ekiben: The Art of the Japanese Box Lunch. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Koshika, Kie. November 21, 2025. “JR, Ekiben Makers Seek Cultural Heritage Status for Beloved Train Bento.” Kyodo News. https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/65094.

Matsumoto, Toshimichi. 2000. “Ekiben: Japan’s Savory Train Fare,” in Japan Quarterly 47(1): 65-75. Accessed via Proquest on April 26, 2026.

Noguchi, Paul. 1994. “Savor Slowly: Ekiben, the Fast Food of High-Speed Japan” in Ethnology (33)4: 317–30. https://doi.org/10.2307/3773902.

Seligman, Lucy. 1994. “The History of Japanese Cuisine,” in Japan Quarterly 41(2): 165-178.

Trubek, Amy. 2008. “Epilogue,” in The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir, 1st ed, 244-250. Berkeley: University of California Press. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/10.1525/j.ctt7zw38x.12.

Trubek, Amy. 2008. “The Next Phase: Taste of Place or Brand?” in The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir, 1st ed, 208-243. Berkeley: University of California Press. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/10.1525/j.ctt7zw38x.12.