What was the Japanese word for "clockwise" (時計回り) before clocks were commonplace?


In English, before clocks were commonplace, the word "clockwise" was obviously
not in common use. Instead, the closest alternative to "clockwise" was the
now-archaic word "deasil", and its antonym was "widdershins" (or, perhaps,
people just used "right" and "left"; see also: [What did we say before
“clockwise”?](https://english.stackexchange.com/q/72054/43004) on English.SE).

The Japanese word for "clockwise" - 時計回り - also involves clocks. What was the
Japanese word for 時計回り before 時計 became commonplace? I see that 右回り is given
as a synonym/definition for 時計回り in some dictionaries; is this what was most
commonly used in olden times?




The content below is an exact copy of [a deleted
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/21341/3437) by [user
l'electeur](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/users/4032/l%C3%A9lecteur).

* * *

Noun: [右]{みぎ}ま **は** り

Verb: 右へま **は** る

は ＞ わ back then.

Even today, 「右ま **わ** り」（は changed to わ over time） is a far more intuitive
word than 「[時計回]{とけいまわ}り」 for native speakers. The only time I myself used
「時計回り」 and 「[反]{はん}時計回り = "CCW"」 often in my life was when I was working for a
machine manufacturer. Even then, I was using 「右まわり」 and 「[左]{ひだり}まわり」 outside
of work.

