also: べんこ
noun
night-soil vault; clay pot for collecting feces in an outhouse
Refers to a traditional container placed under a squat toilet or outhouse to collect human waste, historically used for fertilizer. The reading べんつぼ is standard; べんこ is a less common variant.
See also: 汲み取り便所 · 壷 (つぼ) · 便槽
昔の汲み取り便所では、便壺に排泄物をためていた。
In old-style pit toilets, waste was collected in a night-soil vault.
農
Farmers sometimes used the contents of the night-soil pot as fertilizer.
Compound of 便 (ben, 'excrement') and 壺 (tsubo, 'pot, jar'). The reading べんこ is a variant with the older reading こ for 壺.