Charcoal grill - Sumiyaki

The act of burning charcoal, or the person who makes it. Charcoal burning was widely practiced until recently as a side job for mountain farmers in the winter, but it became widespread rather after the Meiji period, and old full-time charcoal burning was mainly associated with smelting in mines and blacksmithing. For example, the "Sannai" iron sand smelting organization was made up of four parts: Kanna (iron hole), charcoal mountain, Tatara, and blacksmithing, which shows that charcoal burning was an indispensable part of it. Also, charcoal burning groups were always associated with old, highly nomadic groups of metalworkers. The image of such old charcoal burners is reflected in the "Legend of the Charcoal Millionaire," who was unaware of the value of gold.

During the Heian period, aristocrats used charcoal for heating, and from the Middle Ages onwards, demand for charcoal gradually increased with the spread of the tea ceremony and the development of urban life. As a result, several charcoal-producing areas (Tamba, Omi, etc.) were formed around Kyoto and Osaka, and a few mountain people apparently gave up their occupation of charcoal production. However, for a long time, the main fuel for ordinary farmers was firewood, mainly for the hearth, and although they have been making charcoal for their own consumption since ancient times, the methods used were extremely simple and they did not go so far as to build a 'charcoal hearth'. Some of the old methods still remain in mountain villages today, such as burning firewood such as mosoro, edayaki, and barazumiyaki and covering it with soil, or digging a pit to steam the firewood.

In the early modern period, as urban life became more common, the demand for charcoal increased, and the charcoal-making industry gradually spread, with the construction of charcoal stoves and the development of charcoal-making techniques. In mountain villages around cities, the number of farmers who burned charcoal as a side job gradually increased, but the general demand for charcoal was still limited and charcoal-making techniques were immature. It was not until the Meiji period that charcoal became an important fuel, replacing firewood. It was after the end of the Meiji period that charcoal-making as a side job in the winter became common in mountain villages throughout the country, and charcoal-making techniques for black charcoal and white charcoal improved significantly. National forests became the main source of charcoal in mountain villages in the Tohoku region, and in some cases large-scale charcoal-making businesses were established, employing charcoal burners. However, today, as a result of the so-called "fuel revolution," charcoal-making is becoming a thing of the past.

[Toshimi Takeuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

木炭を焼成すること、またはその業者。炭焼きはおもに山間農民の冬期の兼業として近年まで広く行われてきたが、その一般化はむしろ明治期以後で、古い専業的炭焼きはおもに鉱山の精錬業や鍛冶(かじ)に随伴した存在であった。たとえば砂鉄精錬組織としての「山内(さんない)」は、カンナ（鉄穴）、炭山、たたら、鍛冶の四部構成で、炭焼きが不可欠の存在であったことを示している。また古い漂泊性の強い金屋職人団にもかならず炭焼きの一団は随伴していた。黄金の価値も知らずにいたという「炭焼き長者伝説」にもこうした古い炭焼きの姿は反映している。

　平安期の貴族生活には暖房用に木炭が用いられ、さらに中世以後、茶の湯の普及と都市生活の発展に伴ってその需要もしだいに増していったので、京坂周辺にはそのためいくつかの製炭地（丹波(たんば)、近江(おうみ)など）が形成され、若干は製炭専業の山民も生じたらしい。しかし久しく一般農民のおもな燃料はいろり中心の薪(まき)で、自給用の炭焼きも古くからあったらしいが、その手法はきわめて簡略なもので、「炭かまど」を構築するまでには至らなかったらしい。モソロ、エダヤキ、バラズミヤキなど薪材を焼いて土をかぶせるか、あるいは坑をうがって薪材を蒸し焼きにするといった旧手法はいまも若干山村に残っている。

　近世に入ると、都市生活の一般化に伴い木炭の需要が高まって、製炭業もしだいに広まり、「炭かまど」を築いての製炭手法が創案された。都市周辺の山村には農民の兼業的炭焼きがしだいに増加していったが、なお木炭の一般需要は限られており、また製炭手法も未熟であった。木炭が薪材にかわる重要な燃料になるのはむしろ明治以後である。広く国中の山村に冬期兼業としての製炭稼ぎが一般化するのは明治末期以後のことで、黒炭・白炭などの製炭技法も格段に進んだ。そして国有林が東北山村などではその主給源になり、ときには「焼子」を雇っての大掛りな製炭業も一部には生じた。しかし今日、いわゆる「燃料革命」の結果、炭焼きはまったく過去のものと化しつつある。

［竹内利美］

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