pike gudgeon; Pseudogobio esocinus
A freshwater fish native to East Asia. In Japanese, this is the primary meaning of カマツカ.
The pike gudgeon is a freshwater fish found in Japanese rivers.
Oriental photinia; Photinia villosa
A deciduous shrub in the rose family, native to East Asia. The name カマツカ is also applied to this plant.
The white flowers of the Oriental photinia bloom in spring.
Asiatic dayflower; Commelina communis
A common annual herb with blue flowers, often considered a weed. Also known as ツユクサ, but カマツカ is an alternative name.
See also: ツユクサ
Asiatic dayflowers were blooming by the roadside.
sickle handle
Only when written 鎌柄
Archaic meaning, derived from the kanji 鎌 (sickle) and 柄 (handle). This sense is rarely used in modern Japanese.
In old language, 鎌柄 referred to the handle of a sickle.
Katakana spelling is standard for this word, which is usually written in kana. The kanji form 鎌柄 is rare and mainly associated with the archaic sickle-handle sense.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
Kanji form, primarily used for the archaic sickle-handle meaning. Rarely used for the plant/fish senses.
The word カマツカ is of uncertain origin. The kanji 鎌柄 literally means 'sickle handle', which is an archaic sense, but the connection to the fish and plant names is unclear.