外 堀(そとぼり)

そとぼり

noun

outer moat

1. outer moat

The outermost of a castle's moats, surrounding the whole compound. Best known from the idiom 外堀(そとぼり)を埋(う)める 'to fill in the outer moat', meaning to remove the obstacles around a goal step by step before going for it directly.

城(しろ)の外堀(そとぼり)。

The castle's outer moat.

外堀(そとぼり)沿(ぞ)いの桜(さくら)がきれいだ。

The cherry trees along the outer moat are beautiful.

彼(かれ)は先(さき)に両親(りょうしん)を説得(せっとく)して、外堀(そとぼり)を埋(う)めてからプロポーズした。

He won over her parents first, filling in the outer moat, and then proposed.

The idiom comes from the Siege of Osaka (1614–15): after the winter campaign, the Tokugawa had the outer moat of Osaka Castle filled in as a peace condition, leaving the castle defenseless the next summer.

Common expressions

外堀(そとぼり)を埋(う)める: to remove obstacles step by step before the real move
外堀(そとぼり)が埋(う)まる: to be left with no way out

Related words

内堀(うちぼり): inner moat
堀(ほり): moat

general

Added 2026.9.29 5:19 · Revised 2026.9.29 5:23

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