also: こうちょう · ごちょう
morning after sleeping together; parting at dawn after a night together
Archaic term from classical Japanese literature, especially waka poetry, referring to the bittersweet morning after a couple has spent the night together and must part.
the next morning
Only when written 後朝 · Only with reading こうちょう / ごちょう
Archaic general term for the following morning, not necessarily romantic. Restricted to the readings こうちょう and ごちょう.
Many waka poems remain that sing of parting at dawn after a night together.
The next morning, the traveler began walking again.
Standard kanji spelling for the reading きぬぎぬ, referring to the morning after a couple has slept together.
Alternate kanji form read こうちょう or ごちょう; used for both the morning-after sense and the general 'next morning' sense.
Alternate reading of 後朝; less common than こうちょう.
Variant spelling using the iteration mark 々; less common but still encountered.
A reduplication of 衣, “garment.” It evokes the lovers putting on their separate garments when parting at dawn after spending the night together, and hence came to denote that parting or the following morning.