Yusanbako (picnic boxes) are small three-tiered wooden lunch boxes handed down in Tokushima, also called 'Awa no Tamatebako' (the treasure box of Awa). 'Yusan' means going out to play in the hills and fields. At the Peach Festival (Momo no Sekku) and the Iris Festival (Shobu no Sekku), children packed these boxes with food and sweets and headed out to the mountains, the sea and the meadows. Typical contents were rice dishes such as maki-zushi (rolled sushi), nishime (simmered vegetables) and sweets such as yokan and uiro. The three tiers fit into a box-shaped frame, are held in place by a lid that slides up and down, and the whole is carried by the handle on top. Said to have been in use since the Edo period, they were a springtime tradition in Tokushima until around the Showa 40s (1965-1974). Changes in lifestyle once made them disappear, but efforts by researchers and woodworkers have led to their being made again. In Tokushima City, Ebuchi Kyodaiten (江淵鏡台店) makes yusanbako using the sashimono (joinery cabinetry) skills it developed making kyodai (dressing stands), and also offers painting experiences.
Origin
The yusanbako is a tool rooted in rural life in Tokushima. There was a custom of celebrating the arrival of spring by enjoying meals outdoors on days off. At first, large three-tiered jubako (stacked food boxes) were used to carry food for the whole family, and the small boxes for children are thought to have appeared toward the end of the Edo period. Materials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries describe them as 'handed down in Tokushima since the Edo period,' while Ebuchi Kyodaiten describes them as a seasonal tradition dating from the mid-to-late Edo period.
History
In the Meiji period, painted yusanbako became popular and became associated with Hina Matsuri (the Doll Festival). Each elementary school child is said to have had their own box, used only on festival days. It is also said that when children finished the contents, they would go home to have the box refilled, or have it filled at a neighbor's house. During the period of rapid postwar economic growth, families became smaller and more people left farming, and from the 1960s onward the boxes fell out of use. A book published in 2006 by food culture researcher Miyake Masahiro is said to have sparked their revival.
Features
A yusanbako consists of three small square tiers stacked inside a box-shaped frame. The lid slides up and down to hold the tiers in place; to eat, you pull the lid up and take the tiers out. A handle on top lets you carry the whole set. The tiers are traditionally colored yellow, red and green from top to bottom, and traditional boxes were lacquered. Today, boxes left as shiraki (plain unfinished wood) and indigo-dyed boxes are also made, and their uses have broadened, from holding osechi (New Year dishes) to serving as containers for small items.
Techniques
Nail-free mortise-and-tenon joinery
Ebuchi Kyodaiten's yusanbako are assembled using sashimono techniques that use no nails. In mortise-and-tenon joinery (hozogumi), a projection (tenon) made on one piece is inserted into a hole in the other to join them. Woodworking skills developed in Tokushima for making kyodai and Japanese-style furniture are put to use in the fine details of these small boxes.
Materials Used
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Artisans & Workshops
江淵鏡台店
A woodworking shop at 1-1-40 Suehiro, Tokushima City. In the early Showa period, the first-generation owner 江渕栄 founded 'Ebuchi Mokkosho' (Ebuchi Woodworks), and in 1972 (Showa 47) the second-generation owner 江淵達人 reorganized it into the present company. Drawing on his skills in making kyodai, he revived the long-discontinued yusanbako. Today the third generation, 江淵政男, is also involved in production, and each box is assembled one by one after an order is received.
Official site →How to Buy
- 江淵鏡台店 Online Shop
- Ebuchi Kyodaiten's online shop sells yusanbako made to order. The original yusanbako costs around 22,000 yen, and the indigo-dyed yusanbako around 27,500 yen. There is also a set of a yusanbako for osechi and an oshiki (serving tray), supervised by the Yusanbako Culture Preservation Association.Where to buy →PR
- 菓游 茜庵 (Yusanbako Sweets Assortment)
- A Japanese confectionery shop at 3-44 Tokushima-cho, Tokushima City, at the foot of Mt. Shiro in Tokushima. It offers 'Yusanbako no Otsumeawase,' a yusanbako filled with Japanese sweets, with boxes in two colors, indigo and madder red. It is listed at 6,588 yen with an assortment of signature sweets and 6,804 yen with longer-lasting sweets (as of January 2026).Where to buy →PR
Hands-on Experiences
遊山箱絵付け体験 江淵鏡台店
徳島県徳島市末広1丁目1-40
An experience in which you freely paint a plain unfinished yusanbako. It takes about 2 to 4 hours. Prices vary by source and are listed at roughly 4,000 to 5,500 yen (including the box). Reservations are required by the previous day, and it is closed on Sundays and public holidays.
View details →FAQ
Q. What was packed in a yusanbako?
A. Generally, the bottom tier held rice dishes such as maki-zushi or inari-zushi, the middle tier held side dishes such as nishime, and the top tier held sweets. Among the sweets, yokan and uiro, a steamed confection made from rice flour and sugar, were popular with children.
Q. When are yusanbako used?
A. In the past, children used them when going out to the hills, fields or the sea on the Peach Festival (March 3) and the Iris Festival (May 5). Today they are sometimes given as gifts to celebrate a child's birth or a wedding. They are also used as jubako for osechi and as decorative containers for small items.