Refers to a narrow path running along or between rice paddies, often raised or grassy. A rural landscape term.
As a child, I used to run along the footpath between the rice fields to get to school.
Walking along the path between the paddies, I heard frogs croaking.
Standard kanji spelling for a footpath between rice fields.
Rare kanji variant; not commonly used in modern Japanese.
Compound of 縄 (nawa, 'rope') and 手 (te, 'hand'), possibly from the idea of a path as narrow as a rope. The exact derivation is uncertain.