also: わらわやみ
ague; intermittent fever; malarial fever
Archaic medical term for a fever with recurring chills and sweating, often associated with malaria. In modern Japanese, マラリア or 間欠熱 are more common.
In the old days, people sometimes died from ague.
In this region, intermittent fever used to spread in the summer.
Obscure kanji; the word is usually written in kana. This kanji form is archaic and rarely used in modern Japanese.
Standard kana spelling for the reading おこり.
Archaic reading; rarely used in modern Japanese.
The reading おこり is derived from the verb 起こる (to occur, to happen), referring to the recurring nature of the fever. The kanji 瘧 is a Chinese character specifically for this illness. The reading わらわやみ is archaic and its derivation is uncertain.