Use of Murayoshi Charcoal for Flowerbeds and Fields

Use of Murayoshi Bincho Charcoal for Flowerbeds and Fields
Murayoshi "Bincho" (hard white) charcoal, product promotion and recommendations for use, Okinawa, Japan

Murayoshi Bincho Products

The History of Bincho Charcoal

Bincho charcoal manufacturing is an ancient oriental art. It supposedly originiated in the eigth century, but little is known about its early history. During the seventeenth century, Bichuya Chozaemon (Bi-cho), a charcoal wholesaler from Tanabe, Kishu prefecture, named this special charcoal "Bincho charcoal" and sold it throughout Edo, the former name of Tokyo. From that time on, Bincho charcoal became popular and has been distributed all over Japan. This is the history of the name, Bincho charcoal.

Bincho charcoal has many unique characteristics which require two key conditions required to make the best Bincho charcoal:

1. Carbonize the charcoal in a Bincho kiln
2. Use Ubamegashi Evergreen Oak for the raw material

Murayoshi's Four Step Process to Make Bincho Charcoal

Evergreen Oak - Exotic Origin
(Quercus phillyraeoides / Japanese name: Ubamegashi)

The oaks are a large group of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs that are found wild throughout Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North and South America. They have one characteristic in common, which is the fact that their seeds are carried in little caps, acorns. Male and female flowers appear on the same tree. The male flowers are born in noticeably thin catkins, and the inconspicuous female flowers are produced two or more, or sometimes singly, on a short stalk.

Bincho charcoal is made of "Ubamegashi" oak. It is a large evergreen tree that grows in moderate climate on steep slopes of coastal areas in Asia. Ubamegashi can be easily distinguished by their hard leaves and acorns which tend to have flat surfaces. Also, they can withstand dry weather.

There are some other raw lumbers used to make Bincho charcoal, however, the "Ubamegashi" produces the best Bincho charcoal.