wakashu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 若衆 (“young person”).

Noun

wakashu (plural wakashu)

1. (archaic) A Japanese boy after early childhood but before his coming-of-age ceremony.
2. A role in kabuki traditionally played by a boy of this age category.
3. A soldier of the oyabun in the yakuza hierarchy.

See also

• yakuza
• oyabun
• waka gashira
• shatei
• shatei gashira
• kyodai