Japanese symbol for “excelsior”

木毛

もくもう

Romaji: mokumou

wood wool; excelsior

In Japanese, excelsior is 木毛, read もくもう (mokumou).

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

n wood wool; excelsior

Kanji and stroke order

木

tree, wood

on: ボク、モク
kun: き、こ-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

毛

fur, hair, feather

on: モウ
kun: け

4 strokes · JLPT 2

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
木材	もくざい mokuzai	lumber; timber; wood
木造	もくぞう mokuzou	wooden; made of wood; wooden construction
木曜	もくよう mokuyou	Thursday
樹木	じゅもく jumoku	tree; trees and shrubs
青木	あおき aoki	Japanese laurel (Aucuba japonica); spotted laurel
並木	なみき namiki	roadside trees; row of trees
髪の毛	かみのけ kaminoke	hair (on the head); (a) hair
毛布	もうふ moufu	blanket

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.