A fire built in a metal basket or brazier, traditionally used for fishing at night, as a watch fire, or for illumination. In modern contexts, it can refer to a bonfire or campfire, but the image is often of a contained fire in a basket.
See also: かがり
We lit a bonfire by the river and enjoyed night fishing.
On the night of the festival, bonfires were lit in the shrine grounds.
brothel-keeper (Edo period)
Archaic slang from the Edo period, referring to a brothel-keeper. Not used in modern Japanese.
In the Edo period, かがり火 was a slang term for a brothel-keeper.
bonfire; large bonfire
Standard mixed kanji-kana spelling; the kanji 篝 is not a Jōyō kanji, so this form is widely used.
Full kanji spelling using the non-Jōyō kanji 篝; less common in everyday writing.
Derived from かがり (a basket or brazier for holding a fire) + 火 (fire). The kanji 篝 is a non-Jōyō character specifically meaning a basket for a fire. The archaic sense is a slang usage from the Edo period, likely unrelated to the literal meaning.