noun
night-soil bucket; honey bucket
A bucket used for carrying human waste as fertilizer, historically common in Japan. The term is now mostly historical or regional.
See also: 肥桶
昔は農家が肥たごを担いで畑に向かう姿が見られた。
In the past, farmers could be seen carrying night-soil buckets to the fields.
肥桶 is a more common term for a night-soil bucket, using 桶 (oke) instead of 担桶 (tago). 肥たご is a less common variant.
Compound of 肥 (こえ, 'manure, fertilizer') and たご, a variant of 担桶 (たご, 'carrying bucket'). The exact origin of たご is uncertain, but it likely refers to a bucket carried on a pole.