Kusaki mo Nemuru Ushimitsu Doki (草木も眠る丑三つ時 – Witching Hour): Part 1
Kusaki mo Nemuru Ushimitsu Doki: Part 1
草木も眠る丑三つ時 Part 1
The eerily silent midnight is sometimes described as kusaki mo nemuru ushimitsu doki (草木も眠る丑三つ時) or simply ushimitsu doki (丑三つ時) in Japanese.
不気味なほど静かな真夜中のことを、「草木も眠る丑三つ時」または「丑三つ時」と言います。
Ushimitu doki is a way of expressing time in the Edo period, corresponding to the time between 2:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. in today’s terms.
「丑三つ時」は江戸時代の時刻の数え方で、現在の午前2時から午前2時半の間を表します。
In addition, kusaki (草木) means “plants and trees,” nemuru (眠る) means “to sleep,” so the literal meaning of kusaki mo nemuru ushimitsu doki is “2:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., when even plants and trees sleep.”
また、「草木」は “plants and trees”、「眠る」は “to sleep” を意味するので、「草木も眠る丑三つ時」の文字どおりの意味は “2:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., when even plants and trees sleep” となります。
It implies a silent dead of night as if even plants and trees are sleeping.
植物も眠っているかのような、静まり返った真夜中というわけです。
