anagama

noun

ana·​ga·​ma ˌä-nə-ˈgä-mə 

variants or less commonly Anagama

plural anagamas also Anagamas

: a traditional Japanese wood-burning kiln used for firing ceramics

They can differ in size and shape, but all anagamas depend on the intimate interaction of the clay with the flames and ash from a slow-burning wood fire.

—Patricia Malarcher, New York Times, 14 June 1981

—often used before another noun

Licked and scorched by wood flame, glazed and encrusted with wood ash, anagama ware contrasts sharply with ware produced in tamer environments like that in an electric kiln.

—Barry Lopez, Harper's Magazine, January 1998

… a 5th century-style Japanese Anagama kiln.

—Christine Sobek, Chicago Daily Herald, 24 Feb. 2010

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Japanese, from ana "hole, burrow, cave" + kama "kiln"

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

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