''Kamameshi'' ( 釜飯) literally translates to "kettle rice" and is a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in an iron pot called a ''kama''. Kamameshi originally referred to rice that was eaten communally from the kama. Coworkers or family members either ate directly from the kama pot or by transferring the rice to individual bowls. The term emerged in the late Meiji period, and is associated with the communal eating of rice in the aftermath of the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

. Later, similar to ''

takikomi gohan ''Takikomi gohan'' (炊き込みご飯, 炊き込み御飯) is a Japanese rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish. The ingredients of ''takikomi gohan'' are cooked with the rice. This dish is c ...

'', kamameshi came to refer to a type of Japanese

pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...

cooked with various types of meat, seafood, and vegetables, and flavored with

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

, or

mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms naturally during the fermentation pro ...

. By cooking the rice and various ingredients in an iron pot, the rice gets slightly burned at the bottom which adds a desirable flavor to the rice. ''Kama'' designed specifically to prepare kamameshi appeared on the market as the dish became popular across Japan, and the prepared kamameshi is placed directly on the table in its pot for the meal. A small-scale replica of the ''kama'' is used to create an individual serving of kamameshi, and the dish is now a popular ''

ekiben are a specific type of ''bento'' boxed meals, sold on trains and at train stations in Japan. They come with disposable chopsticks (when necessary) or spoons. ''Ekiben'' containers can be made from plastic, wood, or ceramic. Many train stations ...

''. Many

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

cuisines also prepare rice in a similar way using a clay pot or stone bowl. In China it is known as ''guō fàn'' ( 鍋飯) or, in Cantonese ''bo zai fan'' ( 煲仔飯), and in Korea ''dolsot bibimbap'' (돌솥 비빔밥)

References

Chinese rice dishes Japanese rice dishes Communal eating {{Japan-cuisine-stub