noun
the Rabbit; the Hare (zodiac sign)
The fourth sign of the Chinese zodiac. Used in expressions like 卯年 (Year of the Rabbit) and in traditional directional/time systems.
来年は卯年です。
Next year is the Year of the Rabbit.
卯の刻に起きるのは昔の習慣だ。
Getting up at the hour of the Rabbit is an old custom.
noun
hour of the Rabbit; around 6am
Traditional time period corresponding roughly to 5–7am or 6–8am. Often seen in historical contexts or in the compound 卯の刻.
See also: 卯の刻
江戸時代、卯の刻は午前六時ごろを指した。
In the Edo period, the hour of the Rabbit referred to around 6 a.m.
noun
east (obsolete); second lunar month (obsolete)
Obsolete directional and calendrical uses. 卯 once indicated the direction east and the second month of the lunar calendar in traditional Chinese-influenced systems. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical references.
古い暦では、卯は東の方角や二月を表した。
In old calendars, 卯 represented the direction east or the second month.
兎 is the common word for 'rabbit' as an animal. 卯 is specifically the zodiac sign or related traditional concepts.
The kanji 卯 is a pictograph traditionally associated with the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac system. The reading う is the native Japanese kun'yomi for this character in zodiac contexts; the reading ぼう is a rare on'yomi.