field latrine; night-soil pit in a field
Refers to a traditional pit dug in a field for use as a toilet, often for collecting night soil as fertilizer. Now largely historical or rural.
In old farmhouses, they used the manure from the field latrine on the fields.
この辺りにはまだ野壺が残っている。
There are still field latrines remaining around here.
Standard kanji spelling using the modern form 壺.
Variant using the older kanji form 壷; less common but still encountered.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; may be used for readability or when the kanji 壺 is not available.
Compound of 野 (の, 'field') and 壺 (つぼ, 'pot' or 'pit'), literally 'field pit'. The term reflects its function as a pit dug in a field for use as a toilet.