Antique and beautiful HIBASHI Swan Chopsticks tongs signed box Made by Gorosaburo Kanaya.

Antique and beautiful HIBASHI Swan Chopsticks tongs signed box Made by Gorosaburo Kanaya.

Primary Material: Copper

Japan early Showa 1910s

Size box: 27 cm L x 6.5 cm W x 3 cm H

Size chopsticks 24.2 cm L

Hibashi chopstick is a Japanese tool. Most of them are made of iron, and are designed to handle charcoal in a brazier or fire box.

When braziers or irori fire places were widely used, Hibashi chopsticks were common tools you could see in any home in Japan. A Hibashi chopstick consists of two iron sticks narrow at the points, and is about 25 centimeters to 40 centimeters long. It is used to add some charcoal to a fire or to control a fire. The back end of the Hibashi chopstick comes in a variety of forms: rounded shape; copper nail-like shape; one fitted with a ring by splitting or wrapping.

There was a custom of thrusting two Hibashi chopsticks into ash crossing them over each other when covering a brazier fire with ash to put it out. It is a kind of a charm for preventing fires. As the chances of using charcoal fires decreased, Hibashi chopsticks gradually disappeared from daily life except for occasions like Japanese tea ceremony.