Hibachi - fire bowl

A type of heating device. It was used to heat the room by putting ashes inside and heating hands and feet with embers and charcoal fire, and to boil tea. In the past, it was called a hioke or hibitsu, but in later times it is called a hibachi. In Japan, irori was widely used to heat rooms, but in the Heian period, shinden-zukuri style palaces and mansions, irori were not installed on the surface to avoid smoke and soot. Instead, clay fire containers were placed in existing buckets and chests, and embers were poured into them to keep people warm. A hioke was made by placing a clay fire container in a curved cypress or cedar piece of wood, and later, it was made by hollowing out round logs of paulownia, zelkova, cedar, etc., and putting a copper drop into them. At first, they were used as they were, but later, the outside was painted with lacquer or painted, and eventually, those decorated with gold, silver, copper, and other metal fittings appeared. Hibachi and hibitsu were used from October to March of the lunar calendar, and were put away in April. The use of charcoal helped to popularize them; originally, charcoal was a fuel for refining metals, but it came to be used as a fuel for heating and led to the development of smoke- and soot-free living in homes. Especially in the early modern period, the development of cities made it difficult to rely solely on firewood for household fuel, and people inevitably had to use charcoal in urban life, and this led to the widespread use of hibachi among the general public. There are many types of braziers, including round braziers made from hollowed-out logs or curved pieces of wood such as paulownia, cedar, or cypress, square braziers (box braziers) or long braziers made from joinery made of hardwoods such as rosewood or ebony, round braziers made from metals such as copper, iron, and alloys, or ceramics, and small hanging braziers with handles for easy portability. They have become indispensable as heating equipment in Japanese-style rooms. Their advantages are that they produce no smoke, soot, or odor, and are easy to move, but they have the disadvantages of being difficult to heat the entire body or room, and of the harmful effects of carbon monoxide from charcoal fires. Accessories include a trivet, copper pot, fire tongs, and ash smoother.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

暖房具の一種。灰を入れ、中に燠(おき)、炭火(すみび)をついで手足をあぶり、室内を暖め、湯茶などを沸かすのに用いた。古くは火桶(ひおけ)、火櫃(ひびつ)といい、後世はもっぱら火鉢とよんでいる。日本では、古来、室内の採暖・暖房のために広くいろりが行われたが、平安時代の寝殿造など宮廷・邸宅の表向きでは、煙と煤(すす)を避けるため、いろりは設けなかったので、これにかわって、ありあわせの桶、櫃に土製の火容(ひいれ)を置き、これに燠などをついで暖をとった。火桶はヒノキ、スギの曲物(まげもの)に土製の火容を置いたもので、のちにキリ、ケヤキ、スギなどの丸木をくりぬき、銅製の落としを仕込んだものができた。初め木地のまま用いられたが、のち外側に漆(うるし)を塗ったり、絵を描いた絵火桶が用いられ、やがて金、銀、銅などの飾り金具を施したものも現れた。火桶・火櫃の使用期間は旧暦10月から3月までで、4月にはかたづけていた。火桶・火櫃の普及を助長したのは木炭の利用で、元来、木炭は金属精錬用の燃料であったが、これが採暖・暖房用の燃料として利用されるようになって、煙と煤のない住生活が展開されることとなった。ことに近世に入ると、都市の発達は家庭燃料を薪(たきぎ)にだけ求めるのは困難で、いきおい都市生活においては木炭を利用しなければならなくなり、ここに火鉢は広く民間に普及することとなった。火鉢の種類には、キリ・スギ・ヒノキなどの曲物や丸木をくりぬいてつくった丸火鉢、シタン・コクタンなどの堅木(かたぎ)の指物(さしもの)の角火鉢（箱火鉢）や長火鉢、銅・鉄・合金などの金属製や陶器製の丸火鉢、また小形で取っ手をつけて携帯に便利な提(さげ)火鉢などいろいろあって、和室の採暖・暖房具として欠くことのできないものとなった。煙と煤と臭気がないうえに、簡単に移動できるのが長所であるが、全身や部屋全体を暖めることは困難で、炭火による一酸化炭素の害を伴う欠点があった。なお、付属品としては、五徳(ごとく)、銅壺(どうこ)、火箸(ひばし)、灰ならしなどがある。

［宮本瑞夫］

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