A pair of iron rods generally held together at one end by a large ring answer as tongs, being used after the manner of chop-sticks. These are either stuck in the ashes, or when the [pg 215] wooden box contains the fire-vessel separately there may be secured in the corner of this box a bamboo tube in which the tongs are kept.
In bronze hibachi there are handles or rings on the sides for convenience of moving. In the square-box hibachi cleats are nailed on opposite sides to answer as handles; or, as is more usually the case, narrow holes are cut through the sides of the box to accommodate the fingers, as shown in the previous figure (197).
Fig. 197.—Common hibachi.
Much art and skill are displayed in the bronze and iron hibachi, and forms such as might be found in an ordinary house in Japan would be regarded as gems in collections of bric-à-brac at home. Even the wooden hibachi are often objects of exquisite taste. We recall an old one made of the richest grained wood, in which were drawers at one end to hold pipes and tobacco, and around the base of the box ran a deep band of black lacquer inlaid with ornaments of pearl, the design representing in various positions the iron bits of a horse. So various and oftentimes inexplicable are the surprises in their designs, that one might almost imagine the decorator to have [pg 216] opened while blindfolded a dictionary of objects, and to have taken the first word he saw as the theme for his subject.
Fig. 198.—Hibachi.
A very favorite form of wooden hibachi is shown in [fig. 198]. This consists of a single piece of oak or other hardwood turned in a cylindrical form, the grain being brought into relief by special treatment, and the inside lined with copper. An old one richly colored and polished by age is much esteemed.