tonoko 砥の粉

Powdered burnt clay or pulverized whetstone. Used for polishing swords and coloring wood. Tonoko was mixed with lacquer to make *sabi-urushi 錆漆 which was used as a primer *kataji 硬地 on masks, and to build up lacquer surfaces for modeling in relief takamakie 高蒔絵. Tonoko mixed with animal glue *nikawa 膠 was also painted onto statues to make a *doroji 泥地 before applying colors.