tokonoma

[ toh-kuh-noh-muh ]

noun

1. (in Japanese architecture) a shallow alcove for the display of kakemonos or flower arrangements.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tokonoma¹

1895–1900; < Japanese, equivalent to toko (raised) floor + -no grammatical particle + ma room

Example Sentences

The third wall, a solid one of smoke-blue plaster, held the niche called "tokonoma," where pictures are hung and flower vases set.

From Project Gutenberg

Kano sat as she had left him, motionless, now, as the white jade vase within the tokonoma.

From Project Gutenberg

At right angles to this wall I can see the Tokonoma recess—a yard deep and two yards long and nearly as high as the room.

From Project Gutenberg

In her tokonoma she had just hung up a Japanese painting representing a moonlight scene.

From Project Gutenberg

In a Japanese room the timber upright alongside the tokonoma is always a tree trunk in the rough.

From Project Gutenberg