天児

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	児
あま Grade: 1	Grade: 4
kun'yomi	irregular

Alternative spellings
天兒 (kyūjitai) 天倪 尼児

Etymology

Unknown. The initial ama portion seems to be 天 (ama, “heaven, heavens”), but the latter portion is unclear. This may be ancient genitive particle が (ga) plus unknown morpheme つ (tsu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ma̠ɡa̠t͡sɨ]

Noun

天児(あまがつ) • (amagatsu) 

1. a protective charm for babies, made as a doll in the form of a baby, and intended to take on any misfortune in the real baby's stead; originally made of wood or bamboo, with the body and arms traditionally in a T shape and with a round head attached on top

Usage notes

This term appears to have fallen out of common use.

See also

• 這(ほう)子(こ) (hōko): another kind of talismanic doll

References

• Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
• Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
• Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN