鳥とり追おい

noun

driving off birds; bird-scaring

General term for the act of chasing away birds, often in agricultural contexts.

• 田たんぼで鳥とり追おいをする。

  I scare birds away in the rice field.

noun

New Year's bird-chasing procession

A traditional rural custom held at the New Year, where villagers, especially children, walk from house to house singing songs to symbolically chase away birds for the year.

• 昔むかしは正しょう月がつに鳥とり追おいの行ぎょう事じがあった。

  In the past, there was a bird-chasing event at New Year's.

noun

female street entertainer (New Year's)

Historical term for a female street performer who appeared around New Year's, often wearing a braided hat and carrying a shamisen, or performing with a fan. Now obsolete.

• 江え戸ど時じ代だいには鳥とり追おいという門かど付づけ芸げい人にんがいた。

  In the Edo period, there were door-to-door entertainers called torioi.