also: はとり
noun
first cockcrow of the year
A traditional seasonal word (kigo) for the New Year, referring to the first crowing of a rooster heard at the start of the year. Often used in haiku and other poetic contexts.
初鶏の声を聞いて新年の訪れを感じた。
Hearing the first cockcrow of the year, I felt the arrival of the new year.
俳句では初鶏が新年の季語として使われる。
In haiku, 'first cockcrow' is used as a seasonal word for the new year.
Refers to the first song of a bird (often a bush warbler) in the new year, while 初鶏 specifically means the first crowing of a rooster.
Compound of 初 (hatsu, 'first') and 鶏 (tori, 'chicken/rooster'). The reading はつとり is the standard combination; はとり is a contracted variant.