丑うし寅とら

う

し

と

ら

Meanings

northeast

archaic

Archaic term for the northeast direction, derived from the Chinese zodiac signs Ox (丑) and Tiger (寅). Used historically in contexts like onmyōdō (陰陽道) and traditional geography. In modern Japanese, 北東 (ほくとう) is the standard word.

古ふるい地ち図ずでは、丑うし寅とらの方ほう角がくに鬼き門もんが記しるされていることがある。
On old maps, the northeast direction is sometimes marked as the demon gate (kimon).
「丑うし寅とら」は、十じゅう二に支しの丑うしと寅とらの間あいだの方ほう角がくを指さす古ふるい言いい方かたです。
"Ushitora" is an old term for the direction between the Ox and Tiger signs of the Chinese zodiac.

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Kanji

丑sign of the ox or cow, 1-3AM, second sign of Chinese zodiac
寅sign of the tiger, 3-5AM, third sign of Chinese zodiac
艮northeast (Oriental zodiac), stopping, good radical (no. 138)

Related words

北ほく東とう
Standard modern word for northeast. 丑寅 is archaic and culturally specific.
鬼き門もん
The northeast direction as an unlucky quarter in onmyōdō; 丑寅 is the directional term itself, while 鬼門 refers to the taboo associated with that direction.

Built from

丑うし+寅とら

Written forms

丑うし寅とらUsage64%
Standard kanji spelling for the northeast direction in the traditional Chinese zodiac-based system.
艮うしとらUsage31%
Single-character spelling from the Eight Trigrams (八卦); rare and mainly encountered in classical or divinatory contexts.
うしとらUsage4%

Etymology

Compound of 丑 (ushi, 'Ox') and 寅 (tora, 'Tiger'), the two zodiac signs that correspond to the northeast direction in the traditional Chinese zodiac compass. The reading is a straightforward combination of the kun'yomi of each character.