Irori

An ''irori'' (, ) is a traditional Japanese sunken hearth fired with charcoal. Used for heating the home and for cooking food, it is basically a square, stone-lined pit in the floor, equipped with an adjustable pothook – called a ''jizaikagi'' () and generally consisting of an iron rod within a bamboo tube. It is used for raising or lowering a suspended pot or kettle by means of an attached lever which is often decoratively designed in the shape of a fish.Fahr-Becker (2001), p. 196 Historically, the ''irori'' served as the main source of residential heating and lighting, providing a place to cook, dry clothing, and act as a communal gathering location.

Function

The irori () has the following functions.

; Residential heating
: The irori was generally located in the center of the room and used for heating the whole room.
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; Cooking
: The irori was used for cooking. A () was used for hanging a pot over the fire. Fish and other food items were often skewered and stuck into ashes around the fire. They could also be buried in the ashes to be grilled. A sake-filled '' tokkuri'' was sometimes heated by burying it in the ashes. In the '' Hokuriku'' region, cooking was done with the irori until the ''kamado'' (cooking stoves) became widespread in the 1950s. In warm western Japan, people have disliked using irori during the summer and decided to use ''kamado'' and irori separately depending on the seasons from a long time ago.
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; Lighting
: The irori was used for lighting at night. In the pre-modern era, when fire was the primary illumination source, irori could safely light up rooms. In ancient times, only oil and candles were used for lighting.
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; Drying
: The irori was used for drying clothes, food, raw wood, etc. by using ''hidana'' (wood lattice) hung from the ceiling over the irori or clothing racks placed by the irori.
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; Source for making fire
: The fire in the irori was kept burning, and used for the source for making a fire of ''kamado'' or lighting equipment especially during the time without matches.
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; A place for family communication
: The irori functioned as a place where a family gathers. During meals and nighttime, people gathered around the irori and had conversations. Each member of the family generally had a fixed place to sit, and the irori functioned as an area to reaffirm the hierarchical order within the family. The names of each seats around the irori vary, but some examples include ''yokoza'', ''kakaza'', ''kyakaza'', ''kijiri'', or ''geza''. The seat furthest from the doma (the entryway) named yokoza was the seat of the family head. The children sat in the seat closest to the doma named kajiri. The guests and the head's wife sat on both sides of these seats.
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; Improvement of the durability of the house
: The irori fills the room with warm air, which lowers the moisture content in the wood and makes it less susceptible to decay. In addition, the tar (wood tar) contained in the smoke from burning wood permeates the beams and thatched roof making them insect resistant and waterproof. However, the smoke in the house can also cause eye disease and other health problems.

Hazards

Similar to kerosene heaters common in rural Japan, burning charcoal produces fine particulates and carbon monoxide, the latter which can pose immediate health hazards in a poorly ventilated space. Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter has been implicated in elevated rates of glaucoma and cataracts. High rates have been observed among smokers and rural Indian farmers who practice stubble burning.

Gallery

File:Japanese Traditional Hearth L4817.jpg, Irori
File:Irori - sankei-en - sept 5 2021.webm, thumbtime=13, An actively used irori
File:長瀨家 Nagase-ke - panoramio.jpg, Small irori
File:2013 Japan - Takamori Dengaku Hozonaki (11148675595).jpg, A ''jizaikagi'' hearth hook with fish-shaped counterbalance
File:囲炉裏.jpg, An irori in use
File:Yunokami-Onsen Station 006.JPG, An irori in a train station waiting room, 2010

Footnotes

References

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Fireplaces
Japanese home

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