protective baby doll; talisman doll for infants
A traditional doll given to newborns as a protective charm, often placed near the baby to ward off evil.
This houko doll is a protective charm handed down since the Edo period.
crawling baby
Literally 'crawling child'; a descriptive term for an infant at the crawling stage. Rare as a standalone word; more often seen in explanations or traditional contexts.
The word 'hauko' literally refers to a baby who is crawling.
Standard kanji spelling for the protective doll.
Explicit spelling showing the verb 這う; less common but clarifies the meaning.
From 這う (hau, 'crawl') + 子 (ko, 'child'). The protective doll sense likely comes from the doll's association with a crawling infant.