Japanese symbol for “tinker”

鋳掛け屋

いかけや

Romaji: ikakeya

a tinker; tinkerer

In Japanese, tinker is 鋳掛け屋, read いかけや (ikakeya).

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 a tinker; tinkerer

Written forms: 鋳掛け屋、鋳掛屋. Readings: いかけや.

Kanji and stroke order

鋳

casting, mint

on: チュウ、イ、シュ、シュウ
kun: い.る

15 strokes · JLPT 1

掛

hang, suspend, depend

on: カイ、ケイ
kun: か.ける、-か.ける、か.け、-か.け

11 strokes · JLPT 1

屋

roof, house, shop

on: オク
kun: や

9 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
鋳造	ちゅうぞう chuuzou	casting; founding; minting
鋳物	いもの imono	casting; cast-metal object
鋳型	いがた igata	mold; mould; template
鋳鉄	ちゅうてつ chuutetsu	cast iron
鋳る	いる iru	to cast; to mint; to coin
鋳金	ちゅうきん chuukin	casting
掛け	かけ kake	credit
仕掛け	しかけ shikake	device; contrivance; mechanism
部屋	へや heya	room; chamber

See also: Chinese symbol for “tinker”.

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.