also: ぶどう · ぶとう
na-adjective, noun
Archaic term for something morally repugnant or beyond reason. Used in classical contexts.
See also: 無道
その振る舞いは不道であると非難された。
His conduct was condemned as inhuman.
noun
barbarity (historical crime)
Specific historical legal term: one of the eight unpardonable crimes in ancient Japanese law, including acts like killing three members of one family or dismembering a corpse.
See also: 八虐
八虐の一つに不道がある。
Barbarity is one of the eight unpardonable crimes.
Alternate reading; less common.
Alternate reading; less common.
無道 also means 'inhuman' or 'wicked', but is less specifically tied to the archaic legal sense of 不道.
Composed of 不 (not) and 道 (way, morality), literally 'without the proper way'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term appears in classical Chinese-influenced texts.