Sometimes it seems that people are trying to make as many disconnections as possible. Some folks who like American comics refuse to read comics from Japan, and vice versa. Tabletop RPGers don’t like LARPers, etc., etc. This is most pronounced in adolescence, but it continues into adulthood. All the political talk shows on talk radio spend a lot of time telling their audiences that the people who support Party A are totally different from the people who support Party B, and never the twain shall meet. There is a ton of investment in specialized group identities in our culture.

When we look at things as big as cultures, and compare them, there are so many angles to look at them from.

The bento box perhaps serving as a symbol of a culture?

This is unlike many western cultures, where things are often blended to the point of being bland…or formless instead of the creation of potentially pleasing new shape.

KS, you’ve been exposed to Japanese culture much more than I, so pulling observations or insights out of your ass are more likely to be closer to the target than ones I attempt even after careful aiming.