Guide
Glossary of Japanese Pipe Terms
The Japanese vocabulary surrounding the kiseru and its smoking set: the pipe's parts, types of case and pouch, the sections of the tabako-bon, and the names for the set hung from the sash.
Japanese pipe terms form a vocabulary that grew independently of the Western pipe lexicon, so there is often no direct one-to-one equivalent. A newcomer reading an auction listing or museum label about a kiseru will find "hizara" where a Westerner would expect "bowl," and "tsutsu" where they'd expect "case." The list below groups these terms not alphabetically but by the object family they belong to; for general pipe terminology, see the pipe terminology glossary entry.
Parts of the Pipe
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hizara (火皿) | The small metal bowl where tobacco is placed |
| gankubi (雁首) | The curved metal fitting connecting the bowl to the shaft, meaning "goose neck"; in some sources it is referred to together with the bowl |
| rao (羅宇) | The bamboo or wood shaft; its name is said to derive from Laotian reed |
| suikuchi (吸口) | The metal mouthpiece |
| kata | The metal ferrules fitted onto the two ends of the shaft in a rao-kiseru |
| do | The all-metal body of a nobe-kiseru, running end to end |
These terms serve to distinguish two basic types: the three-piece rao-kiseru and the single-piece, all-metal nobe-kiseru. Subtypes are named for the cross-section of the kata or the do; unusual-bodied examples are called kawarigata. On 17th- and 18th-century pipes, a removable ring fitted around the middle of the shaft, used to rest the pipe, is called a tsuba. Heavier examples that could also double as a weapon in a pinch are called kenka-kiseru.
The Carrying Set
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Source: Pipedia, adapted under the CC BY-SA licence.