Kama - Kama

Japanese: 釜 - かま

A ceramic or metal container used for cooking rice or boiling water. It usually has a deeper bottom and narrower mouth than a pot, and has a brim (or tuyere) at the boundary between the top (koshiki) and the bottom. A rice cooker has a heavy wooden lid, while a yukogama has a lid with a knob made of the same material. The size of a rice cooker is measured by the amount of rice it cooks, and the size of a yukogama is measured by the diameter of its opening. In the old days, the unit for counting the number of cookers was called 'yuko'.

Kettles are a corrupted form of Kanae (cauldron), and were also called Maroganae (round cauldron) in ancient times, and were already being made in the Nara period. Originally, they were used to boil water, and previously, steamers were used to steam rice, and pots were used exclusively to cook rice. Pots are suitable for the boiling method of cooking katemeshi (rice cooked with other ingredients) and barley rice, and because they have handles, they can be hung on a hook and are convenient for cooking over an open hearth. On the other hand, kettles are suitable for the takiboshi method of cooking rice, and as rice consumption became widespread and hearths were improved in the early modern period, they finally became common for cooking rice. At this point, a distinction was made between rice kettles and yukama (water pots), and rice kettles came to be simply called kama, and yukama came to be called chagama, kansu, etc. Since around the 1950s, gas and electricity have become the predominant fuel used in households, and automatic rice cookers that use electric heat or gas have become widely used for cooking rice.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

kinds

There are hagama (rice cookers) for cooking rice, ranging from ones that can cook one sho (1.8 liters) or three sho, to small ones that can cook about one gou (1 cup) of rice. For large-scale cooking at village gatherings or in the homes of large families, flat kettles without rims and open at the top were used. In addition to these, there are pressure kettles that use pressure, tea kettles specifically for boiling water, and ones with small openings called kansu (pots) used for the tea ceremony. There are also large ones for industrial use, and many other types depending on the purpose. A special one is the copper kettle (doko), which has a partition inside the kettle and two openings and can be used for both hot water and tea, and was used exclusively by the owners of large merchants and brothels.

Kettles were often made of iron, copper, aluminum, ceramic, or earthenware, with heavy, durable zelkova or oak used for the lids. Tea kettles had lids made from the same materials as the kettles, such as copper, silver, or brass.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

Folklore

There are many popular beliefs and customs related to kettles, and the ancient "Shukaisho" (Shukaisho) describes a custom of fortune telling by the "rumble of the kettle". There is also an old popular belief that the kettle in hell, where sinners are boiled, opens its lid only on the 16th of Obon and New Year, and is believed to forgive the sinners. In Tano District, Gunma Prefecture, the 16th of Obon is called "Kettle Mouth Opening" and in the former Niihari District area of Ibaraki Prefecture, the 1st of July in the lunar calendar is called "Kettle Lid Opening". It was believed that on this day, spirits leave hell, and that the sound can be heard by placing your ear to the earth. In addition, in northern Kyushu, there is a custom of "Kamabutakabuse", where the lid of the kettle is placed over the bride's head on her wedding day.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

[Reference] | Tea kettle

Feather pot
© Yoshiyasu Tanaka

Feather pot

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ご飯を炊いたり、湯を沸かすのに用いる陶製または金属製の容器。普通、鍋(なべ)よりも底が深く、口が狭く、上部（甑(こしき)）と底部の境に鍔(つば)（羽口(はぐち)）をつくり、飯釜(めしがま)には重厚な木蓋(きぶた)を置くが、湯釜にはつまみのある、釜と同材の蓋を置く。飯釜の大きさは、その炊く米の容量をもって何升炊きといい、湯釜の大きさは、その口径をもって何寸という。またその個数を数える単位は古くは何枚といった。

　釜はカナエ（鼎）が訛(なま)ったもので、古くはマロガナエ（円鼎）ともいい、すでに奈良時代に製作されていた。もともとは湯を沸かすためのもので、以前は飯を蒸すには甑が、飯を炊くにはもっぱら鍋が使用されていた。鍋は、糅飯(かてめし)（米にほかのものを混ぜて炊いた飯）や麦飯を炊く湯とりの方法に適し、つるがあるので自在鉤(かぎ)にかけて、いろりでする炊事に便利であった。これに対し釜は、米の飯の炊乾(たきぼし)の方法に適していたので、近世に入って米食が普及し、竈(かまど)が改良されるとともに、ようやく炊飯用として一般化した。ここに、飯釜と湯釜の別も生じ、飯釜を単にカマとよび、湯釜をチャガマ、カンスなどというようになった。なお、昭和30年代ころからは家庭燃料がほとんどガスや電気となり、飯を炊く道具も電熱・ガスを利用する自動炊飯器が広く普及している。

［宮本瑞夫］

種類

炊飯用の羽釜(はがま)に一升（1.8リットル）または三升炊きのものから、一合ぐらいの釜飯(かまめし)用の小さなものもある。また村寄合や大家族の家など大量炊事用には、鍔がなく上のほうに開いた平釜が用いられた。このほか、圧力を利用する圧力釜、湯沸かし専用の茶釜、茶の湯に用いる口の小さい鑵子(かんす)とよばれるものなどがある。また製造工業用の大型のものなど、用途によっていろいろである。特殊なものとしては、釜の内に仕切りがあって、口が二つある湯茶両様を兼ねた銅壺(どうこ)などもあり、これはもっぱら大きな商家や遊女屋などの主人に愛用された。

　なお釜は、鉄製、銅製、アルミニウム製、陶製、土製のものが多く、蓋には重くてじょうぶなケヤキやカシが使われ、茶の湯釜の蓋には、釜と同材の銅製、銀製、真鍮(しんちゅう)製などが用いられた。

［宮本瑞夫］

民俗

釜に関する俗信や習俗も多くみられるが、古く『拾芥抄(しゅうかいしょう)』に、釜から発する「釜鳴り」によって吉凶を占う風習がみられる。また古くからの俗説に、地獄で罪人を煮るという地獄の釜は、盆と正月の16日に限り蓋をあけ、罪人を許すと信じられ、群馬県多野郡では、盆の16日を「釜の口開(くちあき)」とよび、茨城県の旧新治(にいはり)郡地方では旧7月1日を「釜蓋開(かまぶたあき)」とよんでいる。この日は、精霊が地獄を出るので、土に耳を当てるとその音が聞こえると信じられていた。そのほか、九州北部には、結婚の当日、花嫁の頭に釜の蓋をかぶせる「釜蓋被(かまぶたかぶせ)」の習俗などもみられる。

［宮本瑞夫］

[参照項目] | 茶釜

羽釜
©田中淑安">

羽釜

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

<<: Kiln

>>: Kama (river)