{"id":1324,"date":"2025-12-12T17:34:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T08:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/?p=1324"},"modified":"2026-01-23T14:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T05:57:26","slug":"news-intermediate-preserving-ekiben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/news-intermediate-preserving-ekiben\/","title":{"rendered":"\u99c5\u5f01\u306e\u4f1d\u7d71\u3092\u5b88\u308c\uff1aJR\u304c\u7121\u5f62\u6587\u5316\u8ca1\u767b\u9332\u306b\u5411\u3051\u3066\u52d5\u304f"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span class=\"marker2\"><strong>Disappearing<\/strong><\/span><strong>\/ \u6e1b\u5c11\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b\uff08\u52d5\u8a5e\uff09<\/strong> \u2013 becoming fewer; slowly going away<br><br>Traditional ekiben shops are <strong>disappearing<\/strong> because of faster train travel.<br>\u4f1d\u7d71\u7684\u306a\u99c5\u5f01\u5c4b\u306f\u3001\u5217\u8eca\u306e\u9ad8\u901f\u5316\u306b\u3088\u3063\u3066\u6e1b\u5c11\u3057\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"marker2\"><strong>Preserve<\/strong><\/span><strong>\/<\/strong> <strong>\u4fdd\u5b58\u3059\u308b\uff08\u52d5\u8a5e\uff09<\/strong> \u2013to protect something so it does not disappear<br><br>Museums help <strong>preserve<\/strong> historical objects.<br>\u535a\u7269\u9928\u306f\u6b74\u53f2\u7684\u306a\u3082\u306e\u3092\u4fdd\u5b58\u3059\u308b\u624b\u52a9\u3051\u3092\u3057\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"marker\"><span class=\"marker2\"><strong>Intangible cultural asset<\/strong><\/span><\/span><strong>\/ \u7121\u5f62\u6587\u5316\u8ca1\uff08\u540d\u8a5e\uff09<\/strong>\u2013a tradition or practice that is important to culture, but not a physical object<br><br><em><em>JR companies want ekiben to be registered as an <strong>intangible cultural asset<\/strong>.<\/em><\/em><br>JR\u5404\u793e\u306f\u3001\u99c5\u5f01\u3092\u7121\u5f62\u6587\u5316\u8ca1\u3068\u3057\u3066\u767b\u9332\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3068\u8003\u3048\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"marker2\"><strong>Tradition<\/strong><\/span><strong>\/ \u4f1d\u7d71\uff08\u540d\u8a5e\uff09<\/strong>\u2013 a custom or practice that has been passed down for a long time<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Making ekiben is a Japanese <strong>tradition<\/strong> that is over 140 years old.<br>\u99c5\u5f01\u4f5c\u308a\u306f140\u5e74\u4ee5\u4e0a\u7d9a\u304f\u65e5\u672c\u306e\u4f1d\u7d71\u3067\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"marker2\"><strong>Discontinued<\/strong><\/span><strong>\/ \u5ec3\u6b62\u3055\u308c\u305f\u30fb\u751f\u7523\u4e2d\u6b62\u306e\uff08\u5f62\u5bb9\u8a5e\uff09<\/strong>\u2013 stopped; no longer produced<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some popular ekiben were <strong>discontinued<\/strong> because of high costs.<br>\u9ad8\u30b3\u30b9\u30c8\u306e\u305f\u3081\u3001\u4eba\u6c17\u306e\u99c5\u5f01\u304c\u3044\u304f\u3064\u304b\u5ec3\u6b62\u3055\u308c\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"rtoc-mokuji-wrapper\" class=\"rtoc-mokuji-content frame2 preset1 animation-fade rtoc_open default\" data-id=\"1324\" data-theme=\"jin-child\">\n\t\t\t<div id=\"rtoc-mokuji-title\" class=\" rtoc_left\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"rtoc_open_close rtoc_open\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<span>Contents<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div><ol class=\"rtoc-mokuji decimal_ol level-1\"><li class=\"rtoc-item\"><a href=\"#rtoc-1\">Article<\/a><\/li><li class=\"rtoc-item\"><a href=\"#rtoc-2\">Comprehension Questions<\/a><\/li><li class=\"rtoc-item\"><a href=\"#rtoc-3\">Summary<\/a><\/li><li class=\"rtoc-item\"><a href=\"#rtoc-4\">Discussion<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div><h2 id=\"rtoc-1\"  class=\"wp-block-heading\">Article<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Saving Japan\u2019s Ekiben Tradition<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ekiben, or special boxed meals sold at train stations, are an important part of Japan\u2019s food culture. However, many ekiben makers are <strong>disappearing<\/strong>. Faster trains and convenience stores have reduced the number of traditional shops to only about 20 percent of their peak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ekiben are valuable because they <strong>preserve<\/strong> local cooking methods and ingredients. This year marks the 140th anniversary of ekiben, and Japan Railway Group companies are now working to register them as an <strong>intangible cultural asset<\/strong>. They hope this will protect the <strong>tradition<\/strong> and bring more attention to local foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hiroshima Ekibento, a company founded in 1901, is known for its grilled conger eel ekiben. Workers carefully prepare the meal inside the station kitchen. But rising ingredient costs and fewer customers have made business difficult. Some popular ekiben, like oyster rice bentos, have been <strong>discontinued<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To save the tradition, JR companies across Japan are showing displays about ekiben history in their station shops. Some famous makers, like Kiyoken in Yokohama, have also joined the project. Supporters believe ekiben allow travelers to experience local food culture and should be preserved for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sub>Source: Japan Times <\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"rtoc-2\"  class=\"wp-block-heading\">Comprehension Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Answer the questions following the article in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are ekiben and where are they sold?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why are ekiben makers disappearing?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How many years has ekiben existed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do supporters want ekiben registered as an intangible cultural asset?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Name one company mentioned that still supports ekiben culture.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"rtoc-3\"  class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In your own words, attempt to summarise the article in 4 sentences or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"rtoc-4\"  class=\"wp-block-heading\">Discussion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Discuss these topics with your tutor, and support your answers with examples or experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have you ever tried a food that represents a local culture? What was it like?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can modern society balance convenience (fast food, fast trains) with preserving traditions?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What local food from your country or region would you want to preserve for future generations?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disappearing\/ \u6e1b\u5c11\u3057\u3066\u3044\u308b\uff08\u52d5\u8a5e\uff09 \u2013 becoming fewer; slowly going away Traditional ekiben shops are disappearing because<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-04-news-intermediate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1324"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1680,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324\/revisions\/1680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simporacademy.jp\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}