A railing or protective barrier on a bridge, veranda, balcony, corridor, or similar structure. For an everyday handrail inside a building, 手すり is often the more ordinary word.
I leaned on the bridge railing and looked at the river.
The temple corridor has vermilion-lacquered railings.
taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle
shining brightly; brightly gleaming
Only when written 欄干 / 闌干
Archaic literary taru-adjective/adverbial use, chiefly for the moon or stars shining brightly. In modern Japanese it is mainly encountered in old-style poetic expressions rather than everyday speech.
The old poetic phrase “the stars shine rankan to” describes stars gleaming brightly.
taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle
flowing endlessly; streaming down
Only when written 欄干 / 闌干
Archaic literary taru-adjective/adverbial use for tears flowing without end. It is not a normal modern everyday way to describe crying.
The old expression “tears flow rankan to and wet the cheeks” describes tears streaming endlessly.
He leaned against the bridge railing and gazed at the scenery.
The moon is shining brilliantly.
Her tears streamed down endlessly.
Being afraid of heights, he gripped the railing tightly.
I looked down at the river over the railing.
柵 refers to a fence or barrier in general, while 欄干 specifically means a railing along the edge of a bridge, veranda, or similar structure.
欄干 is the common compound meaning 'handrail' or 'balustrade', while standalone 欄 used alone in that sense is rare and mostly literary.
欄外 (the margin or blank space outside a text area) shares the kanji 欄 with 欄干 but has nothing to do with a physical railing.
book; volume; script · this; present; current; in question · main; head; principal · real; genuine; regular; proper · counter for long cylindrical objects; counter for films, TV shows, etc.; counter for goals, home runs, etc.; counter for telephone calls
Rare variant spelling supported for the railing sense.