The hibachi is a traditional Japanese heating device (circa 1890 - 1910). It consists of an open-topped container made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal. A mesh grill was often placed on top of the charcoal container area for the heating or cooking of various foods, or just for warming tea, etc. However, they were most often used for warming small Japanese homes. Also, traditional hibachis were originally used mainly by the samurai classes and aristocrats but gradually spread among the general population.
