literary composition crammed with allusions; poetry composed by arraying reference books
Refers to a style of writing or poetry that is heavily laden with classical allusions, maxims, and references, as if the writer surrounded themselves with source materials like an otter lining up fish. Often associated with the poet Masaoka Shiki, who used 獺祭書屋 as a pen name.
His paper has the flavor of 獺祭, citing works from all ages and countries.
otters lining up fish on a riverbank; making offerings of fish
Original meaning: the behavior of otters arranging caught fish in a row, which was likened to a ritual offering. Now mostly encountered in classical contexts or as the etymological basis for sense 1.
The original meaning of 獺祭 is likening the otter's habit of lining up caught fish on the bank to a ritual offering.
Standard kanji spelling for this literary term.
From the behavior of otters (獺) lining up fish as if making an offering (祭). The literary sense derives from the image of a writer surrounded by many reference books, like an otter with its catch.