noun
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.
この這子は江戸時代から伝わるお守りです。
This houko doll is a protective charm handed down since the Edo period.
noun
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.
「這う子」という言葉は、文字通りハイハイする赤ちゃんを指します。
The word 'hauko' literally refers to a baby who is crawling.
這う is the verb 'to crawl'; 這子 is a noun derived from it, referring to a crawling baby or a doll.
From 這う (hau, 'crawl') + 子 (ko, 'child'). The protective doll sense likely comes from the doll's association with a crawling infant.