印籠

Japanese

印籠 (inrō): a samurai's pillbox, shown hanging on a cord from the user's obi (sash).

Kanji in this term
印	籠
いん Grade: 4	ろう Grade: S
kan’on

Etymology

Appears to be a Japanese coinage from Middle Chinese-derived roots, as a compound of 印 (in, “seal, stamp”) +‎ 籠 (rō, “basket; container”). Appears in texts from the late 1600s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) いんろー [ìńróó] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) いんろ​ー [ìńróꜜò] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ĩnɾo̞ː]

Noun

印(いん)籠(ろう) • (inrō) ^{←いんろう (inrou)?}

1. (historical) during the Edo period, a samurai's pillbox, usually lacquered, consisting of an oval-shaped stack of containers held together with a cord and hung from the user's 帯 (obi, “sash”)