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仕掛け人 (しかけにん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

仕し掛かけ人にん

し

か

け

に

ん

Meanings

1

noun

instigator; mastermind; person behind the scenes

Refers to someone who sets a plan in motion, often secretly or indirectly. Can be used in both negative (schemer) and neutral (organizer) contexts.

彼かれがこのプロジェクトの仕し掛かけ人にんだ。
He is the instigator of this project.
事じ件けんの裏うらには仕し掛かけ人にんがいるらしい。
There seems to be a mastermind behind the incident.

Written forms

仕し掛かけ人にんUsage92%
Standard spelling with okurigana.
仕し掛かけ人にんUsage8%
Variant without okurigana; less common but still seen.

Kanji

仕attend, doing, official
掛

hang, suspend, depend

人person

Similar words

首しゅ謀ぼう者しゃ
首謀者 is more formal and often used for criminal ringleaders, while 仕掛け人 can be used in broader contexts including business or creative projects.
黒くろ幕まく
黒幕 emphasizes a hidden, manipulative figure pulling strings, whereas 仕掛け人 focuses on the act of initiating or setting up a scheme.

Etymology

Compound of 仕掛け (しかけ, 'setup' or 'device') and 人 (にん, 'person'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word literally means 'person who sets things up'.