smoky fire to repel mosquitoes
A traditional method of driving away mosquitoes by burning something that produces smoke, such as pine needles or special coils. Often associated with summer evenings. The reading かひ is archaic.
See also: 蚊遣り火
On summer evenings, we burned a smoky fire in the garden to drive away mosquitoes.
蚊火の煙が目にしみる。
The smoke from the mosquito-repelling fire stings my eyes.
Standard kanji spelling; literally 'mosquito fire'.
Compound of 蚊 (ka, 'mosquito') and 火 (hi, 'fire'), with rendaku voicing of the second element to び. The reading かひ is an older unvoiced form.