tenmoku

T1E1N1M3O1K5U1
/ˈtɛməku/

noun

A dark glaze with a surface that resembles oil spotting, made of feldspar, limestone, and iron oxide.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

nountenmoku (countable and uncountable, plural tenmokus)

plural tenmokus · alternative temmoku

  1. countableuncountableA dark glaze with a surface that resembles oil spotting, made of feldspar, limestone, and iron oxide.

    Tenmokus are usually dark brown and black with some rust patches, but occasionally they are yellow. green or purple. Good tenmokus have an expressive depth and variation of colour.

    2004, Frank Hamer, The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques, page 358

Origin

  1. Japanese天目
  2. Englishtenmoku

Borrowed from Japanese 天目.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tenmoku. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenmoku

MLA

“tenmoku.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenmoku. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tenmoku,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenmoku.

Source: tenmoku on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.