- 15 Mar 2002
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Hibachi (火鉢) is the Japanese term for a charcoal grill or a brazier.
A hibachi is a ceramic, metal or timber appliance for heating, boiling water or simple cooking by burning charcoal on a bed of ashes. Also called hibitsu (火櫃) or hibake (火桶).
There are different braziers according to shape, such as long brazier, square brazier, hexagonal brazier and round brazier. Most are made of ceramic, wood or metal, but some are made of stone, which is rare. They vary in size from the Daimyo brazier, which requires several people to operate, to the small brazier known as the Teaburi. There are also hand-held braziers. These braziers were used by the less affluent classes of the common people in the tenements of Edo. Compared to the braziers used by samurai and merchants of the same period, these are of simpler make.
The brazier as a fireplace appeared in the Nara period. The upper-class samurai and court nobles used them because they did not produce smoke like firewood, but from the Edo period to the Meiji period they became popular among the general public, and some developed as interior decoration, with braziers made of karakane (metal) with engravings and ceramic braziers with vivid colours being produced. Until the early Showa period, they were used for heating and semi-cooking. Before the war, they were even found in station waiting rooms. Still, they disappeared with the spread of stoves and other appliances in the post-war period, as charcoal was time-consuming to ignite and posed the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and fire. Since then, they have mainly been collected by enthusiasts and distributed as antiques and for interior decoration and can be seen in gardens as flowerpots, water-filled water lily pots and large goldfish bowls.
A hibachi is a ceramic, metal or timber appliance for heating, boiling water or simple cooking by burning charcoal on a bed of ashes. Also called hibitsu (火櫃) or hibake (火桶).
There are different braziers according to shape, such as long brazier, square brazier, hexagonal brazier and round brazier. Most are made of ceramic, wood or metal, but some are made of stone, which is rare. They vary in size from the Daimyo brazier, which requires several people to operate, to the small brazier known as the Teaburi. There are also hand-held braziers. These braziers were used by the less affluent classes of the common people in the tenements of Edo. Compared to the braziers used by samurai and merchants of the same period, these are of simpler make.
The brazier as a fireplace appeared in the Nara period. The upper-class samurai and court nobles used them because they did not produce smoke like firewood, but from the Edo period to the Meiji period they became popular among the general public, and some developed as interior decoration, with braziers made of karakane (metal) with engravings and ceramic braziers with vivid colours being produced. Until the early Showa period, they were used for heating and semi-cooking. Before the war, they were even found in station waiting rooms. Still, they disappeared with the spread of stoves and other appliances in the post-war period, as charcoal was time-consuming to ignite and posed the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and fire. Since then, they have mainly been collected by enthusiasts and distributed as antiques and for interior decoration and can be seen in gardens as flowerpots, water-filled water lily pots and large goldfish bowls.