Outside 1930s
How Japan Kept the Fire Burning
A young employee of a charcoal dealer carries packs of charcoal. An extensive charcoal infrastructure as well as ingenious methods kept the fires in Japan’s millions of hibachi burning.
Inside 1896
Forgotten Shapes of Warmth
Renowned American photographer Henry Strohmeyer (right) and his friend drinking Japanese tea while sitting close to hibachi, one wooden and the other metal. Hibachi came in countless forms and styles.
Studio 1890s
Japan's Mistresses of Fire
Two young Japanese women in a studio pose next to a hibachi. Women generally ruled this humble, but all-important heater.
Inside 1910s
Japan's Vanished Portable Fireplaces
A young woman plays the shamisen while seated next to a hibachi (火鉢), a portable charcoal brazier. The metal chopsticks are for handling the charcoal, burning on a thick insulating layer of ash.
Gifu 1936
The Art of the Japanese New Year Card
A stunning New Year card for Gifu’s Great Exhibition of Rapid Japanese Progress of 1936. During the 1900s–1930s, many Japanese New Year cards were designed by top artists who created a golden age of card design.
