暁あかつき闇やみ

also: あかときやみ

あ

か

つ

き

や

み

Meanings

1

noun

moonless dawn; darkness before dawn

Literary term for the deep darkness just before daybreak when the moon is absent. Evokes a poetic, somewhat archaic atmosphere.

暁あかつき闇やみのなか、鳥とりの声こえだけが聞きこえた。
In the moonless dawn, only the birds' voices could be heard.
古ふるい和わ歌かには暁あかつき闇やみを詠よんだものが

多おお

い

。

Many old waka poems sing of the darkness before dawn.

Written forms

暁闇Usage100%
- あかつきやみ
  Standard kanji form for this literary word.
- あかときやみ
  Alternate reading using older あかとき for 暁; less common.
あかときやみ

Kanji

暁daybreak, dawn, in the event
闇get dark, gloom, disorder

Similar words

暁あかつき
暁 simply means 'dawn' or 'daybreak', while 暁闇 specifically refers to the darkness before dawn, especially when the moon is not visible.
闇やみ
闇 is general 'darkness', whereas 暁闇 is a specific, poetic term for the darkness just before dawn.

Etymology

Compound of 暁 (あかつき, 'dawn') and 闇 (やみ, 'darkness'). The reading あかときやみ uses the older form あかとき for 暁. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is used in classical Japanese poetry.