大奥

Japanese

Kanji in this term
おお
Grade: 1
おく
Grade: S
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
大奧 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

(おお) (ō, great) + (おく) (oku, interior)

Pronunciation

Noun

(おお)(おく) • (ōoku

  1. (historical) The inner chamber (inner quarters) of the Edo Castle where the shōgun's consort, concubines, and ladies in waiting resided. Other than the shōgun, no other men were permitted entrance. Male children were raised in Ooku until the age of 7 at which time they had to move out and reside in other parts of the castle.

Derived terms

  • (おお)(おく)(さま) (ōoku-sama, lady of the house)

References

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (2016), NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ^ Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2020), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Eighth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN