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An irori (囲炉裏, 居炉裏) is a traditional Japanese sunken hearth fired with charcoal. Used for heating the home and for cooking food, it is essentially a square, stone-lined pit in the floor, equipped with an adjustable pothook – called a jizaikagi (自在鉤) and generally consisting of an iron rod within a bamboo tube – 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.^[1] Historically irori served as the main source of residential heating and lighting, providing a place to cook, dry clothing, and serve as a communal gathering location.

Function

The Irori (囲炉裏) has the following functions.

Residential heating: The irori was generally located in the center of the room and used for heating the whole room.^[2]
Cooking: The Irori was used for cooking^[2]. Jizaikagi (自在鉤) 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. Sometimes a sake-filled tokkuri was heated by burying it in the ashes. In the Hokuriku region, cooking was done with irori until the kamado (cooking stoves) became widespread in the 1950s. In warm western Japan, people have disliked using irori during the summer and have used kamado and irori separately depending on the seasons from a long time ago.
Lighting: The Irori was used for lighting at night.^[2] In the pre-modern period, when fire was the primary illumination source, irori could safely light up a room. In the ancient time, oil and candle were used exclusively for lighting.
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.
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 equipments especially during the time without matches.
A place for family communication: The Irori functioned as a place where a family gathers.^[2] During meals and the night, people naturally gathered around irori and had conversations. Generally, each members of the family had a fixed place to sit, and irori functioned as a place 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.^[3] The seat farthest from the doma (the entryway) named yokoza was the seat of 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.^[3]
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.

Gallery

Irori
An actively used irori
Small irori
A jizaikagi hearth hook with fish-shaped counterbalance
An irori in use
An irori in a train station waiting room, 2010

Footnotes

^ Fahr-Becker (2001), p. 196
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 野本, 寛一 (2011). 食の民俗辞典 [Folk custom dictionary of food]. 柊風舎. p. 537.
^ ^a ^b 鎌田和宏監修 (2013-02-05). 絵でわかる社会科事典3 昔のくらし・道具 [Picture dictionary of social study 3, Lifestyles and tools in the past]. 株式会社学研教育出版. p. 16.

References

Fahr-Becker, Gabriele (2001) [2000]. Ryokan - A Japanese Tradition. Cologne: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. ISBN 3-8290-4829-7.

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[fahr,_p196-1] Fahr-Becker (2001), p. 196

[:0-2] 野本, 寛一 (2011). 食の民俗辞典 [Folk custom dictionary of food]. 柊風舎. p. 537.

[:1-3] 鎌田和宏監修 (2013-02-05). 絵でわかる社会科事典3 昔のくらし・道具 [Picture dictionary of social study 3, Lifestyles and tools in the past]. 株式会社学研教育出版. p. 16.

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[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Traditional Japanese sunken hearth}}
-[[Image:Japanese Traditional Hearth L4817.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Irori]]
+{{Italic title}}
-'''Irori''' (いろり, 囲炉裏, 居炉裏) are a type of traditional sunken [[hearth]] common in [[Japan]]. Used for heating the home and cooking food, irori are essentially square pits in the floor with a pot hook, or '''jizaikagi''' (自在鉤). These hooks generally were hollow [[bamboo]] tubes containing an iron rod, with an attached lever, often shaped like a fish, that would allow the pot or kettle to be raised or lowered.<ref name = "fahr, p196">Fahr-Becker (2001), p196</ref>
+{{Expand Japanese|topic=struct|囲炉裏|date=August 2018}}
+[[File:Old Farmhouse , 民家園 - panoramio (7).jpg|thumb|240px|right|Irori]]
+An '''''irori''''' ({{lang|ja|囲炉裏}}, {{lang|ja|居炉裏}}) is a traditional [[Japan]]ese sunken [[hearth]] fired with charcoal. Used for heating the home and for cooking food, it is essentially a square, stone-lined pit in the floor, equipped with an adjustable [[pothook]]&nbsp;– called a ''jizaikagi'' ({{lang|ja|自在鉤}}) and generally consisting of an iron rod within a [[bamboo]] tube&nbsp;– 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.<ref name = "fahr, p196">Fahr-Becker (2001), p. 196</ref> Historically ''irori'' served as the main source of residential heating and lighting, providing a place to cook, dry clothing, and serve as a communal gathering location.
+== Function ==
+The ''Irori'' (囲炉裏) has the following functions.
+; Residential heating
+: The ''irori'' was generally located in the center of the room and used for heating the whole room.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=野本 |first=寛一 |title=食の民俗辞典 |publisher=柊風舎 |year=2011 |page=537 |trans-title=Folk custom dictionary of food}}</ref>
+:
+; Cooking
+: The ''Irori'' was used for cooking<ref name=":0" />''. Jizaikagi'' (自在鉤) 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. Sometimes a sake-filled ''[[tokkuri]]'' was heated by burying it in the ashes. In the ''[[Hokuriku region|Hokuriku]]'' region, cooking was done with ''irori'' until the ''[[kamado]]'' (cooking stoves) became widespread in the 1950s. In warm western Japan, people have disliked using ''irori'' during the summer and have used ''[[kamado]]'' and ''irori'' separately depending on the seasons from a long time ago.
+:
+; Lighting
+: The ''Irori'' was used for lighting at night.<ref name=":0" /> In the pre-modern period, when fire was the primary illumination source, ''irori'' could safely light up a room. In the ancient time, oil and candle were used exclusively for lighting.
+:
+; 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.''
+:
+; 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 equipments especially during the time without [[Match|matches]].
+:
+; A place for family communication
+: The ''Irori'' functioned as a place where a family gathers.<ref name=":0" /> During meals and the night, people naturally gathered around ''irori'' and had conversations. Generally, each members of the family had a fixed place to sit, and ''irori'' functioned as a place 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''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |author=鎌田和宏 監修 |title=絵でわかる社会科事典3 昔のくらし・道具 |date=2013-02-05 |publisher=株式会社学研教育出版 |page=16 |trans-title=Picture dictionary of social study 3, Lifestyles and tools in the past}}</ref> The seat farthest from the doma (the entryway) named yokoza was the seat of 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.<ref name=":1" />
+:
+; 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|wood]] tar) contained in the smoke from burning wood permeates the beams and [[Thatching|thatched]] roof making them insect resistant and waterproof. However, the smoke in the house can also cause eye disease and other health problems.
+==Gallery==
+<gallery mode="packed">
+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
+</gallery>
 ==Footnotes==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==References==
+{{Commons}}
-* {{cite book |last1=Fahr-Becker |first1=Gabriele |title=Ryokan - A Japanese Tradition |edition=|year=2001 |origyear=2000 |publisher=Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH |location=Cologne |isbn=3-8290-4829-7 }}
+* {{cite book |last1=Fahr-Becker |first1=Gabriele |title=Ryokan - A Japanese Tradition |year=2001 |orig-year=2000 |publisher=Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH |location=Cologne |isbn=3-8290-4829-7 }}
 {{Japanese architectural elements}}
+{{Authority control}}
-[[Category:Japanese home]]
 [[Category:Fireplaces]]
+[[Category:Japanese home]]
+{{Architecturalelement-stub}}
 {{Japan-struct-stub}}
-{{Architecture-stub}}