hakudo 白土

Kaolin. Also todo とど. A fine soft white clay produced by the decomposition of other clays feldspar. Hakudo is used as a pigment *ganryō 顔料 and to paint the cut ends, koguchi こぐち, of construction timbers to prevent the surface from hardening. This process is called hakudo-nuri 白土塗. An element in porcelain jiki 磁器, and also used for finishing bugaku masks *bugakumen 舞楽面 and colored statues *saishikizō 彩色像 from the Nara to Kamakura periods. From the 15th century, hakudo was often replaced by oyster-shell white pigment *gofun 胡粉.