便べん壺つぼ

noun

night-soil vault; clay pot for collecting feces in an outhouse

Refers to a traditional container placed under a squat toilet or outhouse to collect human waste, historically used for fertilizer. The reading べんつぼ is standard; べんこ is a less common variant.

See also: 汲み取り便所 · 壺 (つぼ) · 便槽

• 昔むかしの汲くみ取とり便べん所じょでは、便べん壺つぼに排はい泄せつ物ぶつをためていた。

  In old-style pit toilets, waste was collected in a night-soil vault.

• 農のう家かでは便べん壺つぼの内ない容よう物ぶつを肥ひ料りょうとして使つかうこともあった。

  Farmers sometimes used the contents of the night-soil pot as fertilizer.