fireside; hearthside
Refers specifically to the area around a traditional Japanese sunken hearth (囲炉裏). Evokes a cozy, old-fashioned domestic scene.
My grandmother told me old stories by the fireside.
On winter nights, the family gathered around the hearth.
Standard kanji spelling for the area around a traditional sunken hearth.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; common in everyday writing when the full kanji 囲炉裏 is considered difficult.
Compound of 囲炉裏 (irori, 'sunken hearth') and 端 (hata, 'edge, side'). The reading ばた is a rendaku form of はた.