1.
rake
A garden tool with prongs used for gathering leaves or loosening soil. Named for its resemblance to a bear's paw (熊の手).
熊手で落ち葉を集める。
To gather fallen leaves with a rake.
庭の手入れに熊手が必要だ。
A rake is needed for garden maintenance.
秋になると公園で熊手を使って落ち葉を掃除する人をよく見かける。
In autumn, you often see people cleaning up fallen leaves with rakes in the park.
2.
lucky charm rake, ornamental rake
A decorated bamboo rake sold at Tori-no-Ichi festivals as a good-luck charm for business prosperity. The prongs symbolize raking in good fortune and wealth.
酉の市で熊手を買った。
I bought a lucky charm rake at the Tori-no-Ichi festival.
商売繁盛を願って熊手を飾る。
We display a lucky rake to pray for business prosperity.
毎年少しずつ大きな熊手を買うのが縁起がいいとされている。
It is considered auspicious to buy a slightly larger lucky rake each year.
CULTURE:
The ornamental 熊手 (sense 2) is a signature item of 酉の市 (Tori-no-Ichi), a festival held at shrines in November. Lavishly decorated with lucky symbols — treasure ships, coins, 招き猫 — these rakes symbolize "raking in" good fortune and prosperity. Businesses and shop owners traditionally buy them to ensure a successful coming year. By custom, buyers start small and purchase progressively larger 熊手 each year.
The word literally means "bear's hand" (熊 + 手), describing the claw-like shape of the prongs.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 熊手で集める: to gather with a rake
- 熊手を飾る: to display a lucky rake
- 酉の市の熊手: Tori-no-Ichi lucky rake
- 縁起熊手: auspicious rake