Designed to hold glowing embers, hibachi vessels such as this were at the center of social life in traditional Japanese homes. A portable form of the traditional inset hearth, the hibachi provided both a source of heat and a tabletop stove for cooking, brewing tea or heating sake. Known as a naga-hibachi, this style of hibachi features multiple drawers and a small, removable board called a 'neko-ita' in addition to the square, copper-lined hibachi.
Made of Japanese elmwood (keyaki), the hibachi is crafted with dovetail joinery and features beautiful wood panels selected for their warmth and expressive wood grain, lending the vessel a marbled appearance. Five variously sized drawers surround the front panel, used to house everything from iron chopsticks for tending coal, tea sets and tea leaves, tobacco accessories, or dried foods. Bronze drop handles hang from each drawer, now wonderfully burnished from years of use. Large inset handles carved in the form of auspicious ruyi accent the sides and aid in moving the large chest when not in use.
With time, oil, gas, and electrical heaters gradually replaced such hibachis, with some still in use in rural households. Today, we celebrate this naga-hibachi as a storied keepsake of the past, ideal as an unexpected planter, container or ice bucket.
Moderate oxidation to copper hibachi liner.
