branch-twined hedge to keep out wild boars and deer
Historical agricultural fence made of intertwined branches, typically erected around fields to prevent crop damage by wild boars and deer. Now mostly encountered in historical or ethnographic contexts.
Military term for a defensive obstacle made of felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy. This sense is a specialized extension of the original agricultural fence, used in fortification contexts.
In Edo-period farming villages, they surrounded fields with shishigaki to protect crops from wild animals.
An abatis was set up around the castle to hinder enemy intrusion.
逆茂木 is another type of defensive obstacle using sharpened stakes, similar to the abatis sense of 鹿垣, but 鹿垣 can also refer to the agricultural hedge.
Standard kanji spelling for this historical fence; 鹿 (deer) and 垣 (fence) directly convey the purpose.
Alternate spelling using 猪 (wild boar); less common but attested.
Compound of 鹿 (shishi, 'deer' or 'wild boar') and 垣 (kaki, 'fence'). The reading shishi is an old word for game animals, especially deer and boar. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term clearly describes a fence for keeping out such animals.