noun
hand bucket; small pail
A small bucket with a handle, often used for carrying water or other liquids by hand. Common in traditional settings like bathhouses or wells.
井戸から手桶で水を汲んだ。
I drew water from the well with a hand bucket.
銭湯で手桶を使ってお湯をかける。
At the public bath, you pour hot water over yourself using a hand bucket.
A general-purpose bucket, often larger and made of metal or plastic. 手桶 is specifically a small, hand-held wooden or plastic pail with a handle, traditionally used in Japanese baths or wells.
Compound of 手 (hand) and 桶 (bucket, tub), literally 'hand bucket'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used for centuries to refer to a small pail carried by hand.