Archaic conjunctive expression used in classical Japanese and sōrōbun (候文) style. Functions similarly to modern けれども or が, connecting clauses with a sense of 'although' or 'but'. Not used in modern Japanese outside of historical or literary contexts.
Sōrōtokoro is a conjunctive expression often seen in old documents, corresponding to modern keredomo.
Archaic kanji spelling using 候 (sōrō) for the auxiliary verb; the standard historical form.
Variant archaic spelling with 所 instead of 処; less common.
Compound of the archaic auxiliary verb 候 (sōrō, humble/formal 'to be') in its attributive form and the noun 処 (tokoro, 'place' or 'circumstance'), literally 'the circumstance being that...'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it became a fixed conjunctive expression in sōrōbun.