History of Onigiri

Onigiri History

has been a favorite food for Japanese people on picnics and as part of their lunch boxes (bento).Bento for a long time. The typical shape is triangular.The rice is shaped into a triangle, wrapped with nori,seaweed, and usually contains pickled plum and a piece of grilled fish,such as mackerel, making it simple to prepare and perfect for taking on the go. There is evidence showing that as early as the Heian period (794-1192), soldiers carried onigiri with them. The appearance of onigiri has remained mostly triangular. However, consumer behavior has changed significantly recently. In the past, onigiri was usually made at home for family consumption,but now they are best-selling items in convenience stores, and even some cafes feature them as signature dishes.

Customers choose onigiri from "Ony" cafe.(Jiji Press)

has been changing since the 1970s

Traditionally, the image of onigiri was a fluffy ball of white rice with perhaps grilled salmon and wrapped in nori by mothers. However, convenience stores completely changed this scene. Since the emergence of convenience stores in the 1970s, onigiri has become one of their most important products, and they still hold that position to this day due to packaging innovations that keep the nori crisp and prevent mess for the consumer. The fillings inside onigiri are also much more varied now, including foreign flavors like mayonnaise-mixed tuna, which has been a huge success. Each convenience store onigiri typically costs around 100 yen (approximately 6.7 yuan),