別わかれ路じ

noun

parting of the ways; road after parting; way to the underworld

Literary and somewhat archaic. Refers to the crossroads where people part, the separate paths they take, or metaphorically the way to the land of the dead. Often used in classical poetry and prose.

• 別わかれ路じに立たつ二人ふたりは、言こと葉ばもなく見みつめ合あった。

  Standing at the parting of the ways, the two gazed at each other without words.

• 古こ歌かには、別わかれ路じを黄泉よみへの道みちと詠よんだものもある。

  In old poems, there are verses that sing of the parting road as the path to the underworld.