hour of the Rat (around midnight)
Obsolete timekeeping term; the hour of the Rat corresponds roughly to 11 p.m.–1 a.m. or midnight–2 a.m. in the old Japanese temporal system. Mainly encountered in historical contexts or the compound 子の刻.
See also: 子の刻
Obsolete directional use based on the Chinese zodiac–compass association. In modern Japanese, 北 is used instead.
eleventh month of the lunar calendar
Obsolete calendar term; the eleventh month of the old lunar calendar was associated with the Rat. Not used in the modern Gregorian calendar.
My grandfather was born in the Year of the Rat.
Telling ghost stories at the hour of the Rat was an Edo-period pastime.
In the old directional system, 子 indicated north.
The eleventh month of the lunar calendar was also called the month of the Rat.
子 marks north and midnight in the old zodiac-compass and time system, while 午 marks the opposite point, south and noon.
子 read ね is the zodiac sign 'Rat' used in dates and compass directions, while the same kanji read こ means 'child' – the readings and meanings are unrelated.
matchlock; arquebus
first Day of the Rat of the New Year · first Day of the Rat of the month (esp. the 11th month)
eleventh month of the lunar calendar
Maruko-bune; wooden transport ship of Lake Biwa
midnight; the hour of the Rat
collecting herbs and pulling out young pine trees by the roots (annual event held on the first day of the Rat of the New Year)
festival in honor of Daikokuten
dung beetle
Japanese cockchafer
The kanji 子 is used here as a Chinese zodiac sign for the Rat. The reading ね is a native Japanese word for the Rat in this context, distinct from the more common ねずみ.
dor beetle (family Geotrupidae) · Geotrupes laevistriatus (species of dor beetle)