方かた違たがえ

noun

directional taboo avoidance; Heian-period travel custom

Archaic term for a Heian-period practice: departing the night before a planned journey, traveling in a different direction to avoid an unlucky direction, staying overnight, and then proceeding to the actual destination the next morning. Related to 方塞がり (katatagari), the unlucky directional taboo itself.

See also: 方塞がり · 方違え所

• 平へい安あん時じ代だいには、方かた違たがえをしてから旅たび立だつことがよくあった。

  During the Heian period, people often performed katatagae before setting out on a journey.