逢魔が時

Ōmagatoki

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Meaning

dusk, the hour of meeting demons

The dim part of the evening after the sun has set; twilight. It was thought to be the hour when one was most likely to meet evil spirits.

Example

子どものころ、逢魔が時までには家に帰れと祖母によく言われた。

When I was a child, my grandmother often told me to be home before ōmagatoki.

Origin

It was originally ōmagatoki (大禍時), meaning the hour when great misfortune tends to happen. Later the "ma" came to be understood as 魔 (demon), the sense of "meeting demons" was added, and the word came to be written 逢魔時. There is also a spelling, 王莽時, that ties it, through a far-fetched association, to Wang Mang of the Han.

Sources

コトバンクkotobank.jp