Refers to the deepest, quietest part of the night, often with a spooky or eerie connotation. Commonly used in expressions like 丑三つ時.
At the dead of night, the town falls completely silent.
In ghost stories, it's said that ghosts appear at the dead of night.
third quarter of the ox's hour (around 2-2:30am or 3-3:30am)
Archaic timekeeping term; the original meaning referring to a specific period in the old Japanese temporal system. Now only encountered in historical contexts.
See also: 丑の刻
The third quarter of the ox's hour in the Edo period corresponds to around 2:00–2:30 AM today.
dead of night; middle of the night · third quarter of the hour of the ox (approx. 2:00–2:30 AM)
Standard kanji spelling for the dead of night sense.
Ateji spelling; rarely used.
From the old Japanese timekeeping system where the ox's hour (丑の刻) was divided into four quarters. 丑三つ literally means 'ox third', indicating the third quarter. The association with the dead of night and supernatural themes developed later.