The “hibachi,” or fire-box, might be considered a piece of furniture, for there are always one or more of these in every room of the house. They are bowl or boxes of metal, wood, china or pottery, and vary in size from ten to twenty inches in diameter. The hibachi is well filled with charcoal ashes, on the top of which are placed pieces of live charcoal. A tripod of metal or pottery sets over the live coals, and on it rests the ever-present water-kettle, in which water for the tea is kept boiling. In cold weather, the hibachi serves a double purpose, for it is the only means employed for heating. Small and insignificant as it appears, it really does temper the air in a room when the “shoji” and “fusuma” are closed, and around it the family will crouch, warming their hands and wrists over the glowing coals.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
