When you sit at the irori, your eye is inevitably drawn to the hook (kagi 鉤) suspended above it, used to hold pots (nabe 鍋) and kettles (kama 釜) over the fire at the desired height. For the mundane but vital role of regulating the temperature of whatever is being cooked or heated, and because the kagi is so visually insistent at the centre of the ‘family circle’, it is the element of the ‘irori complex’ on which the most ingenuity and aesthetic energy is expended. This is in contrast to the irori itself, which in design and appearance is spartan and unornamented, showing little variety from example to example.

The original kagi were created by simply taking a small-diameter tree trunk or branch with a decent number of closely-spaced branches or sub-branches, cutting it to length, trimming the branches short, and suspending it by a rope in its ‘living orientation’ from a beam or ridgepole. The pot or kettle can then be hung from one of the branches, sometimes directly but more usually via another loop of rope tied around the handle. These primitive kagi can still be seen in woodcutter’s huts (kikori-goya 木樵小屋) and backcountry cabins (dezukuri-goya 出作り小屋). In Iwate Prefecture they are called matsu-kagi (まつかぎ probably lit. ‘pine hook’), though they are sometimes fashioned out of deer antlers. The height of the hook itself is fixed; the height of the pot over the fire is changed by simply moving the pot from one branch to another, so these hooks only offer as many different pot-hanging heights as there are branches, and the ‘indexing’ is coarse.

A *matsu-kagi* made out of a deer antler, hanging by a rope from a beam in the Tsubokawa family (*Tsubokawa-ke* 坪川家) residence in Fukui Prefecture.

Something of an improvement was made with the development of the ganda-kagi (がんだ鉤) or katsuta-kagi (かつた鉤), in which the tree branch is replaced with a thick timber board, with a number of steps or ‘teeth’, often odd in number, cut into one edge. Ganda has the meaning of ‘serrated’ or ‘bumpy’ (deko-boko 凸凹). Though the gradations are finer, the ganda-kagi is still indexed, and the number of possible pot height positions is limited to the number of teeth on the board.

There are two types of ganda-kagi, as seen in the image below. The more primitive type is mechanically identical to the tree branch kagi: the teeth face upward, the hook’s height is fixed, and the pot and its rope are moved up and down on the teeth. The more complex type has the teeth facing downward, and the hook and pot are moved up and down together, either on twinned ropes, or, as in the Ainu suwattsu (スワッツ), on a U-shaped iron rod. Comparatively many ganda-kagi survive in the Tо̄hoku region.

Top left, a *matsu-kagi*. Top right, a *ganda-kagi* of the simpler type, with teeth facing upwards. Bottom left and right, *ganda-kagi* of the more complex type, with teeth facing downwards.

The Ainu *ganda-kagi*, known as the *suwattsu* (スワッツ).

Interior of an Ainu *chise* showing a rustic *suwattsu* (スワッツ) with only four teeth, hung over a suspended pole.

The apex of kagi design is reached with the development of the jizai-kagi (自在鉤, lit. ‘adjustable/universal hook’). As the name suggests, the jizai-kagi is freely adjustable and non-indexed. The mechanism by which this is achieved is at the same time simpler and more sophisticated than the ganda-kagi, and will be familiar to anyone who has pitched a tent: the mechanical principle is identical to that of a guy rope tensioner.

The element of the jizai-kagi corresponding to the wooden or aluminium bar of the guy rope tensioner is called the ko-zaru (小猿, lit. ‘little monkey’), the horizontal timber (yoko-gi 横木, lit. ‘horizontal wood’) or iron component through which the suspending rope (tsuri-tsuna 吊り綱) or pole is run. The advantage of using a metal ko-zaru is of course that it can’t be burnt; the disadvantage is that it can become uncomfortably hot if too close to the fire.

The principle by which the jizai-kagi operates is as follows: the suspending rope is run through a hole in one end of the ko-zaru and fixed at its underside with a knot. The other, free end of the rope is looped over a beam, pulley, etc., and then down through a hole in the other end of the ko-zaru. A small hook is attached to this free end to hold the pot or kettle. When the kagi is in its resting or normal state, the weight of the pot pulls the fixed end of the ko-zaru up so it is inclined; the top and bottom, diagonally opposed edges of the free hole in the yoko-gi then grip the free end of the rope, and this friction holds the rope in place and prevents it from sliding. To adjust the pot height, the ko-zaru is lifted into a more horizontal position, which frees the free rope in its hole, allowing it to be slid up or down.

A more refined version of the jizai-kagi replaces the single rope with an iron rod that runs through the hole in the free end of the ko-zaru, and a separate rope that attaches the tail of the ko-zaru to a bamboo tube into which the upper free end of the rod is inserted, so restraining the rod from lateral movement.

Section of a modern interpretation of a rod-and-tube type *jizai-kagi*, using a wire (*waiyaa* ワイヤー) and bolt (*boruto* ボルト) to attach the *yoko-gi* (横木) to the bamboo (*take* 竹) tube.

Three types of *kagi*: on the left, a *ganda-kagi*; in the middle, a rope-and pulley type *jizai-kagi*; on the right, a more sophisticated rod-and-tube type *jizai-kagi*.

Two simple *jizai-kagi* over a single *irori*. Each is hung from its own non-adjustable hook rather than directly from the rafters or from a suspended grille (*hidana* 火棚). The difference in thickness of the hooks and their ropes provides a striking and pleasing contrast. Fish are popular subjects for carved *ko-zaru*, perhaps because, in addition to being a common food, when suspended in space above the *irori* they convincingly appear to be swimming through the room.

Other names for the yoko-gi or ko-zaru include chūji (しゅうじ) or chо̄ji (ちょうじ), from the meaning of ‘envoy’ (chūshi 中使) or ‘errand boy’ (tsukai-aruki no ko-tsukai 使いあるきの小使い), ko-aruki (小あるき ‘little walker’), ko-bashiri (小ばしり ‘little runner’), ko-asobi (小遊び ‘little player’), ko-zara (小ざら ‘little tray’), ko-giri (小ぎり), and so on.

A *jizai-kagi,* here called a *sora-kagi*, consisting of a bamboo tube and simple board *ko-bashiri*, hung from a naturally-curved piece of timber at ceiling level. Despite the presence of a bamboo tube, this is not a ‘tube and rod’ type *jizai-kagi*; the tube appears to function only to hold the two runs of rope together, for the sake of neatness of appearance.

Ko-zaru range from nothing more than primitive pieces cut from timber boards or poles, to examples made of Japanese zelkova (keyaki 欅, Zelkova serrata) and other fine timbers, and carved into forms such as folding fans (sensu 扇子) or fish. These have come to be called ki-tai (木鯛, lit. ‘timber sea bream’), kita-muki funa (北向き鮒, lit. ‘north-facing carp’), agari-buna (上り鮒, lit. ‘rising carp’), iri-tai (入り鯛, lit. ‘entering sea bream’), and the like, though often it is difficult to discern whether they are actually meant to depict tai (鯛, family Sparidae) and funa (鮒, Carassius sp.), or simply a generic ‘fish’. The last three names are in reference to the custom of orienting the fish so that its head is facing ‘up’ or ‘into’ the ‘rear’ (oku 奥) of the raised-floor or habitable part of the dwelling, and away from the earth-floored utility area (doma 土間) and entry. In contrast, the hook (kagi 鉤) should face the entry, giving rise to mnemonic sayings such as de-kagi iri-zakana (出鉤入り魚, lit. ‘out hook in fish’).