tinkering; mending metalware
Refers to the traditional craft of repairing metal pots, pans, and kettles by soldering or brazing. Now largely historical, but the term survives in cultural contexts.
In the old days, tinkers would repair pots and kettles for you.
couple walking together
Archaic term for a man and woman walking together, possibly derived from the image of a tinker and his wife traveling. Not used in modern Japanese.
The craft of tinkering has almost been lost.
In Edo-period texts, 鋳掛け sometimes appears meaning a man and woman walking together.
tinker; metal-repairer
Standard kanji spelling for the traditional metal-repair trade.
Variant spelling without the okurigana; less common but still encountered.
Kana spelling used when the kanji are obscure or for clarity.
Compound of 鋳 (i, 'casting') + 掛け (kake, 'hanging' or 'applying'), referring to the process of pouring molten metal onto cracks. The archaic sense 'couple walking together' may be a metaphorical extension, but the exact derivation is uncertain.