白無垢

Japanese

Kanji in this term
白	無	垢
しろ Grade: 1	む Grade: 4	く Hyōgai
kun'yomi	goon

Etymology

Compound of 白 (shiro, “white”) +‎ 無垢 (muku, “purity, immaculateness; unpatterned cloth that is all the same color, particularly a kimono with the same color inside and out”).^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) しろむく [shìrómúkú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [ɕiɾo̞mɯ̟kɯ̟]

Noun

白(しろ)無(む)垢(く) • (shiromuku)

(Shinto, weddings) a formal, ornate, brocaded, traditional pure-white-on-white type of bridal kimono

Coordinate terms

着(き)物(もの) (kimono)
打(う)ち掛(か)け (uchikake)
色打(いろう)ち掛(か)け (iro uchikake): a colorful and long overgarment kimono
角(つの)隠(かく)し (tsunokakushi)
綿(わた)帽(ぼう)子(し) (watabōshi)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN