Archaic and literary term for the carriage of an emperor or high-ranking noble. Not used in modern everyday Japanese.
Old documents depict a scene where the emperor's imperial carriage leaves the capital.
Composed of 鳳 (hou, 'phoenix', a symbol of the emperor) and 駕 (ga, 'vehicle' or 'carriage'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the compound is conventionally associated with the imperial carriage in classical Chinese and Japanese texts.