Inside 1896
Forgotten Shapes of Warmth

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | APPENDIX

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.

The previous two articles in this series introduced the hibachi, a portable brazier for heating and cooking. This article looks at the five major styles of hibachi seen in vintage images.

Hibachi Styles

The craftsmen that made hibachi, took great pride in their craft. Hibachi therefore came in an infinite number of forms and styles and could be extremely beautiful. American zoologist and archaeologist Edward Sylvester Morse (1838-1925) made a point of this in his classic book about Japanese architecture:³⁴

Much art and skill are displayed in the bronze and iron hibachi, and forms such as might be found in an ordinary house in Japan would be regarded as gems in collections of bric-a-brac at home.

Even the wooden hibachi are often objects of exquisite taste. We recall an old one made of the richest grained wood, in which were drawers at one end to hold pipes and tobacco, and around the base of the box ran a deep band of black lacquer inlaid with ornaments of pearl, the design representing in various positions the iron bits of a horse.

So various and oftentimes inexplicable are the surprises in their designs, that one might almost imagine the decorator to have opened while blindfolded a dictionary of objects, and to have taken the first word he saw as the theme for his subject.

Let’s look at some of the most common hibachi seen in old images of Japan.

◆ Hakohibachi

During the 1800s and the first decades of the 1900s, the cheapest and most common hibachi was a small square wooden box with a round jar of black unglazed earthenware as seen in the photo below.³⁵ These were known as hakohibachi (箱火鉢) or kakuhibachi (角火鉢).

◆ Nagahibachi

The next most common style was an oblong wooden hibachi (長火鉢, nagahibachi), often with drawers at one end and below. These were used for storing hibachi tools, smoking equipment, tea, dried seaweed, and a lot more. Some nagahibachi even featured hidden compartments for valuables.

British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) described the drawers as follows:³⁶

The remainder of the hibachi is made up of clever little drawers, and unsuspected compartments, where the lady of the house — whose special possession the “fire-box” is — keeps a world of things which profit by being dry, her biscuits, her paper for accounts, needles and thread, kanzâshis, combs, tea, chop-sticks, and what not.

Besides the drawers, nagahibachi had one more feature that differentiated them from other hibachi — a shelf or small counter for placing a tea pot, cups, dishes, or other items. Because cats loved to curl up here to warm themselves, this small counter space became known as the cat shelf (猫板, nekoita).

Nagahibachi came in two basic styles: Kantō or Edo nagahibachi (shown above), and Kansai style (shown below).

As the name suggests, Kansai nagahibachi — also known as Daiwa nagahibachi (台輪長火鉢) — were used around Kyoto and Osaka. They featured a wide shelf along the top rim of the box, giving the hibachi the look and function of a low table. The shelf was wide enough to place a cup of tea, and even dishes of a simple meal.

The nagahibachi is typically associated with the Edo Period (1603–1868). But this style of hibachi became common quite late in the Edo Period. It is actually more a product of the Meiji (1869–1912) through early Showa (1926–1989) periods.

The oldest known example of a nagahibachi in the written record is found in the book Nagaiki Mitaiki (長生見度記, see above), published in 1783 (Tenmei 3). The typical nagahibachi style shown in vintage photos, and familiar today, only started to emerge during the 1840s, in the final decades of the Edo Period (1603–1868).³⁷

◆ Kurinuki Hibachi

Kurinuki hibachi (くりぬき火鉢) were made from hollowed out logs. They usually were circular, about 20 to 50 centimeters wide, and often displayed great craftsmanship.

Some “fantastic” kurinuki hibachi were “contrived from the root of a vast tree,” Sir Edwin Arnold noted admiringly:³⁸

Some I have seen in great houses contrived from the root of a vast tree, the gnarled and knotted timber being laboriously hollowed out and lined with copper, and the exterior carefully polished to bring forth the beauty of the grain. These fantastic “fire-boxes” are in much vogue for country villas and smoking-rooms.

◆ Seto Hibachi

Ceramic hibachi, also known as Seto hibachi (瀬戸火鉢), came in a great variety of sizes. Seto-yaki (瀬戸焼) originally referred to ceramics produced in the Seto region of Aichi Prefecture. Over time, Setomono — literally Seto things — became a general term for ceramics.

Ceramic hibachi could be small and for a single person, but they could also have a diameter of over 50 centimeters to cater to several people. Most were bowl-shaped with a large opening and a slightly smaller base.

Although Seto hibachi could be beautifully decorated, most of those shown in vintage photographs tend to be rather plain.

Ceramic hibachi were made in astonishingly large numbers. Especially popular were hibachi from Shigaraki in Shiga Prefecture, one of the oldest pottery producing regions in Japan.

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Shigaraki kilns began to produce hibachi glazed with the newly developed namako blue glaze (なまこ釉).³⁹ By the Showa period (1926-1989), Shigaraki was a household name. According to a 1956 (Showa 31) study, the area produced 1.5 million hibachi annually, accounting for 80% of Japan’s output.

Other areas that manufactured hibachi were Arita, Tokoname, Gojōzaka, Yokkaichi, Marubashira, Tobe, Mashiko, and Kutani. But none could compete with the quality and price of the Shigaraki kilns. Shigaraki effectively set the standard for hibachi prices in the whole country.⁴⁰

◆ Karakane Hibachi

Metal hibachi, known as karakane hibachi (唐金火鉢) were made of brass or copper. They generally had handles and were beautifully decorated.

Like nagahibachi, karakane hibachi became popular among common people from the late Edo period (1603-1868).

◆ Other

Not all types of hibachi are found on vintage photos. For example, daimyo hibachi (大名火鉢) were quite popular. They were generally made of wood, four-legged, table-shaped, and richly decorated with items like lacquer, gold or silver inlay, mother of pearl, or metal fittings. Though regularly found in antique shops, they are exceedingly rare in old photos and postcards. They are more commonly seen in ukiyoe woodblock prints.

Another popular hibachi hard to find on old images is the te-aburi hibachi (手あぶり火鉢 , hand-warming hibachi). They were small and lightweight so they could be easily moved, and even used on a table. They were often made in a set of two so that the host and guest could each use one separately.

Hibachi appear several times in the 1962 (Showa 37) documentary below about minka (民家, traditional buildings for farmers, artisans, and merchants). The video’s starting point is set to a scene showing guests with te-aburi hibachi.

Twelve seconds later — after a scene of a girl studying — it is followed by a brief view of a kitchen with what appears to be a hakohibachi with a kettle. The kitchen is dark and the hibachi almost vanishes into the shadows.

Hibachi were also used to warm up stones used as body warmers. Henry Heusken (1832–1861), the Dutch-American interpreter for the first American diplomatic mission in Japan, expressed his surprise about this in his diary:⁴¹

I have observed a rather peculiar way the Japanese have of warming themselves which corresponds so well to their frugal manners.

They normally sit around a brazier in which there are some embers. In order to benefit from the heat radiated by these embers, the poor people place themselves almost on top of the braziers, because in their open rooms protected only by paper-covered windows from the hardships of winter, these braziers do not raise the temperature of the apartment by one degree.

They put into the brazier a small square stone, and after having heated it well, they put this stone in a wooden case and wrap the whole in a handkerchief. Then they place this contraption on their stomachs.

The next article delves into some of the ingenious tricks that were used to keep the important hibachi fire burning.

Coming Soon! Part 6 : How Japan Kept the Fire Burning.

Warning

To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning or fire, a traditional hibachi requires a well-ventilated space, specific types of charcoal, and knowledge of safe handling. Study safety requirements before using one indoors.

Notes

³⁴ Morse, Edward S. (1889). Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings. New York: Harper & Brothers, 215–216.

³⁵ ibid, 214.

³⁶ Arnold, Sir Edwin (1894). Seas and Lands. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 376.

³⁷ 西村俊範 (2024). 江戸・明治時代の庶民風俗(3) ―長火鉢・安売屋・丑の刻参り・照明具― 付論・江戸・明治時代の庶民民族(続)補遺. 京都先端科学大学人間文化学会, 人間文化研究 52号, 212–218.

³⁸ Arnold, Sir Edwin (1894). Seas and Lands. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 376.

³⁹ Shigaraki: The History and the Present. The Foundation of Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Retrieved on 2025-02-16.

⁴⁰ 間宮雄賢 (January 1956). 信楽の火鉢 日本商品学会: 商品研究, 24–30.

From the mid 1950s on, the demand for hibachi dropped sharply due to changes in lifestyle and energy conversion. Shigaraki gradually shifted to manufacturing flower pots and garden pottery, as well as tiles, umbrella stands, tableware, and the famous tanuki statues.

⁴¹ Heusken, Henry; Van der Corput, Jeannette C.; Wilson, Robert A. (1964). Japan Journal, 1855-1861. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 154.

Published March 11, 2025
Updated March 12, 2025 4:07 PM

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