I bought this book expecting an insightful and perhaps somewhat light-hearted introduction into Japanese esthetics, imagnative photography and outstanding book design. What a disappointment! Here the venerable Japanese lunchbox becomes the universal principle, the general compass, the ultimate paradigm for EVERYTHING-not just food and its presentation and esthetics but also commerce and technology, society, life style, you name it. Needless to say much of this is pretty contrived; the book reads as if it had been authored for distribution by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Most of the photography is either amateurish or archival. The lay-out looks stingy (single photographs as small as 4 x 4 " on 10 x 10" pages). The white on black printing is about as crisp and clear as if the pages had been faxed a couple of times.

Kenji Ekuan's book suffers from a title which inadequately expresses its content. He uses a brief examination of the lunchbox--its contents, history, and organizing principles--to ask what the larger aesthetic principles are of a society which holds this item as an ideal. Among the topics he examines are art, urban planning, and (foremost) industrial design. Though many of his design examples are taken from the late 70s and early 80s, they reveal how little the guiding aesthetic principles have changed (indeed, when it comes to stereo design, today it's hard to imagine [or buy] a form not influenced by lunchbox stacking aesthetics.)

It is a difficult read, and I agree with a previous reviewer that a more light-hearted treatment of the lunchbox and food culture alone would be an excellent study. But that's not the intention of this book (though I have seen it shelved in the cooking section of some bookstores). What that reviewer considers a flaw--the 4x4 photographs in a 10x10 page--I view as an aesthetic judgement in line with the lunchbox principle of understatement. Witness the photos of single flower arrangment in the book (e.g., p. 174). A word of caution: I returned my paperback copy because the binding was flimsy and pages seemed ready to fall out within hours of buying it. I exchanged it for the hardcover and have had no problems, nor have I generally had a problem with MIT press books.