bamboo utensil for holding food; bamboo dish
A classical term for a bamboo container used to hold food, especially in the context of simple, rustic living. Most commonly encountered in the set phrase 一箪の食一瓢の飲 (いったんのしいっぴょうのいん), meaning 'a simple meal of rice in a bamboo dish and a drink from a gourd', symbolizing a life of frugal contentment.
See also: 一箪の食一瓢の飲
The phrase 'a bamboo dish of food and a gourd of drink' is used as a metaphor for a simple, frugal life.
From Chinese 一簞 (yī dān), literally 'one bamboo dish'. The term entered Japanese through classical Chinese texts and is preserved in idiomatic expressions.