hour of the Dog (around 8 PM)
Obsolete temporal unit from the traditional Chinese time system; corresponds roughly to 7–9 PM or 8–10 PM. Mainly encountered in historical contexts or the compound 戌の刻.
See also: 戌の刻
In the Edo period, they closed the gates at the hour of the Dog.
west-northwest (obsolete direction)
Obsolete directional term from the Chinese zodiac compass points; not used in modern navigation.
Old maps sometimes indicate the west-northwest direction with the character 戌.
ninth month of the lunar calendar (obsolete)
Obsolete lunar calendar month designation; corresponds roughly to October in the modern calendar. Rarely encountered outside historical texts.
The ninth month of the old lunar calendar corresponds to around October now.
year of the Dog
northwest
The kanji 戌 is one of the twelve Earthly Branches, originally used in the Chinese sexagenary cycle for timekeeping, directions, and years. The reading いぬ is the native Japanese word for 'dog', assigned to this branch.