From Hibachi to Tea Utensils: A Resilient Pivot

The history of Hannya Chuzo Foundry is one of constant adaptation. At its inception, the foundry focused on everyday items like cooking pots. However, from the early to mid-Showa period, its primary product shifted to hibachi charcoal braziers. At the time, hibachi were an essential fixture in every home, and the high demand was a cornerstone of the foundry's business.

But the tides of change are unforgiving. With the arrival of kerosene heaters, demand for hibachi plummeted almost overnight. Facing a crisis that threatened its very survival after losing its flagship product, the foundry had to make a pivotal decision. The new path it chose was the world of tea ceremony utensils, particularly iron tea kettles.

This was a leap into the unknown. The foundry, which had specialized exclusively in bronze castings, did not even own a furnace for melting iron.

"Until we started making tea utensils, we only manufactured bronze ware, so we didn't have our own furnace to melt iron. We had to take our molds to another foundry in the city to have them pour the molten iron for us."

While relying on the help of others, they steadily built up their expertise and eventually installed their own iron casting facilities. This approach—building on existing techniques, identifying technological and equipment gaps, and strategically filling them—became embedded in the foundry's DNA, empowering them to overcome the many challenges that lay ahead.