haboku means A technique of using splashed ink in brushwork painting, especially for painting a landscape. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
haboku is pronounced /hɑˈboʊ.ku/.
Why “haboku” is a great word
HABOKU — [Noun] A Japanese ink painting technique in which landscapes are evoked through spontaneous splashes, drips, and broken washes of ink, privileging atmospheric suggestion over delineated form. From Japanese 破墨 (haboku), from Middle Chinese 破 (pʰà, "broken up") + 墨 (mok, "ink"). Unlike *sumi-e*, which denotes the disciplined tradition of ink wash painting with controlled brushwork, or *pomo*, its Chinese antecedent bound to a distinct historical lineage, *haboku* is an intentional surrender to accident. It is the single splash that blooms into a mist-shrouded mountain, the blurred stroke that implies a forest, and the decisive void that conjures an entire valley—an artistry that finds its highest expression in knowing what to leave undone.
Etymology
From Japanese 破墨 (haboku はぼく), from Middle Chinese 破 (pʰà "broken up") + 墨 (mok "ink") (compare Mandarin pòmò 破墨, Cantonese po³-mak⁶ 破墨).
noun
- A technique of using splashed ink in brushwork painting, especially for painting a landscape.“1979, John M. Rosenfield & William Jay Rathbun, Song of the Brush: Japanese paintings from the Sansō Collection, Seattle Art Museum
The haboku idiom had appeared in South China in the thirteenth century, and appealed greatly to visiting Japanese Zen Buddhists, who took examples back with them.”