History of the Kamado
Ancient Cooking in Ceramics
From the beginning of time humans used clay vessels to cook their food. Archeologists have found clay cooking pots in every part of the world, and you should note that some of these cooking pots are similar in shape to our Kamado. There was, and still is, magic associated with cooking in ceramics.
The Mushikamado, a Rice Cooker
As cultures and people throughout the world
cooked and prepared their staple foods and favorite dishes in ceramics, so did
the Japanese. The Japanese had a
remarkable device that cooked rice which "looked and tasted different and
better." This cooker, the
Mushikamado, was used to steam rice for ceremonial family functions and was not
used for barbecuing meat, fish, or anything else.
The Mushikamado was made entirely of clay
found in Southern Japan, and its shape was, like many cooking vessels around the
world, very similar to today’s "Kamado."
The Mushikamado was round and domed with a lid that lifted off the base,
and it included a damper and draft door. Inside
the Mushikamado, a rice pot with a wooden lid was suspended over the
"firebox" by a "fire ring." The fuel used to generate heat to steam the rice was wood charcoal.
The Mushikamado becomes the Kamado
Richard Johnson designed and patented the
Mushikamado into a ceramic barbecue in 1960's while he was an airline pilot
flying to Japan. Richard
arbitrarily chose to call his new barbecue a Kamado, a word that had no stand
alone or descriptive meaning in Japan before 1960.
“Kamado” was trade marked by Richard, and over the years the name
became (and in some cases used without authority) synonymous with a ceramic
barbecue
Richard opened a factory in Southern Japan
where the Kamado was made with a grill, hinged bands, sliding draft door, and
other minor but important improvements. Thousands
of the earlier Kamados were sold (for $12.00 or less) to U.S. Air Force
crewmembers who brought them back in empty military transport planes.
Initially, crates were not capable of shipping the fragile Kamado, but
after the crate problem was solved and with the advent of container shipping,
over 100,000 of the Japanese Kamados were imported.
Kamados were sold and demonstrated in every major department store in the U.S. including: Rich’s in Atlanta, Bullocks, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, J.W.Robinsons, and Breuners. Kamados were featured in Sunset, Playboy, and Esquire magazines and in endless press releases. Many of the early purchasers are still using their Kamados, and all love the way they cook. These old Kamados have lived up to Richard Johnson’s original promise that the Kamado, "is the best barbecue in the world."
(click to view 1963 ad) (click to view patent)
The American made Kamado
In the latter part of 1960’s, Richard
manufactured ceramic Kamados in the United States.
These Kamados were made of high fire ceramics and had a high gloss
ceramic glaze. The formula used was
similar to "Corning Ware." The
U.S. made Kamado corrected two major problems with the Japanese made Kamado. One, it did not crack with heat and weather and two, it was
glazed to retain color instead of being painted.
A major component of the U.S. made Kamado was a ceramic mineral that contracted with heat, allowing for a zero coefficient of expansion. The mineral came from Rhodesia; however, in the early 1970’s the U.S. put an embargo on all imports from Rhodesia. Efforts to find a substitute formula failed, and production of the Kamado was discontinued.
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(click to view late 60's photo) (click to view late 60's photo)
Today’s Kamado
In October of 1996, the Kamado Company introduced an entirely new ceramic tiled Kamado. The original Kamado patent holder, Richard Johnson, performed research and development for this new product in California. Today’s Kamado incorporates all of the outstanding features of ceramic cooking found in earlier Kamados, along with many new engineering and aesthetic improvements. We hope that you agree today’s Kamado is a beautiful, lifetime-functional product that will make a very special addition to your home.