channel markers; buoys in a waterway
Poetic term for stakes or markers placed in a channel to indicate the route for boats. Often appears in classical literature and poetry.
Mio-tsukushi are markers that were once placed in rivers or the sea to guide boats safely.
The 'Miotsukushi' chapter of The Tale of Genji is named after this word.
Standard kanji spelling; also read みおじるし or れいひょう in some contexts.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling, often used in literary or poetic contexts.
The ancient word is commonly analyzed as 澪つ串: 澪 “water channel,” the old genitive particle つ, and 串 “stake.” It originally denoted stakes erected to mark a navigable channel.