King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “crucible”

Romaji: rutsubo
crucible; melting pot

In Japanese, crucible is , read (rutsubo).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. n crucible; melting pot
  2. n melting pot (of cultures, ideas, etc.)
  3. n state of ecstasy; state of fevered excitement

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

jar, pot
on: カン
kun: つぼ
8 strokes
crucible, melting pot
on: カ
kun: るつぼ
12 strokes

Other Japanese words for “crucible”

WordReadingMeaning
るつぼ rutsuboThe Crucible (play by Arthur Miller)

See also: Chinese symbol for “crucible”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.