In August of 2007, the shop learned of a large collection of blue and white Imari ceramic hibachis that might be available for sale by a family living not far from the kilns where many of their more than 100 pieces were originally made: Arita, Kyushu, so. Japan.

Assembling the collection over two generations, the family focused almost exclusively on blue and white porcelain hibachi with hand-painted designs and motifs of the Meiji and early Taisho eras. At some point they had hoped to create a private museum to house their treasures, but for whatever reason the current descendants decided it couldn't be achieved and started looking for a single buyer who would acquire the collection in its entirety. Through sheer happenstance we ended up being that buyer, and after copious correspondence, reached an agreement that solved mutual problems: storage, packing, and transport.

Yes, we purchased the entire collection; no, there was not a tsunami of hibachi that flowed from Kyushu up to Tokyo. The first group of twelve arrived at the end of that year, all clean and beautiful, ready to be photographed and displayed in the shop. It included 3 rare pairs of medium-sized hibachi, 4 large ones, and some unusual singles. Almost all of those have new homes.

The next tranche of 17, comprising 15 very large single hibachis, along with an unusual medium-sized piece and a water urn, arrived at the end of August last year, filthy dirty, filled with sand, ash, charcoal, old newspapers, bricks, asbestos, etc. Needless to say, they were not shop-ready!

Three months later, after being scoured and scrubbed, washed and dried, buffed and photographed, here they are, unlike anything that has come on the market in at least 25 years.

These 17 pieces range in price from ¥ 350,000 to ¥ 800,000

About Shipping

The shipment of one or two of these hibachis is cheaper by air freight than by sea. Three or four combined (four is the maximum for one shipment) is less by sea freight per item, but requires considerably more time, especially to Europe. Quotes are provided below. PLEASE NOTE! Insurance is not included, but would be calculated at 1.5% of the total amount insured, i.e. coverage.

Air Freight

As maximum gross: 75 cm x 75 cm x 40 cm