公く廨がい

also: くげ · こうかい

Meanings

archaic

Historical term for a government office or public building in pre-modern Japan. Not used in modern Japanese; encountered only in historical texts.

古こ文ぶん書しょには「公く廨がい」という語ごが役やく所しょを指さして使つかわれている。
In old documents, the word 公廨 is used to refer to a government office.

Kanji

公public, prince, official
廨government office

Related words

役やく所しょ
Modern standard word for government office or public office.
官かん庁ちょう
Modern term for government agency or administrative office.

Word family

公く廨がい田でん
land granted to high-ranking officials (ritsuryō system); land for government office expenses

Written forms

公廨
- くがい
  Archaic kanji spelling for a historical government office. The reading くがい is the most common for this form.
- くげ
  Alternate reading for the same archaic term.
- こうかい
  Sino-Japanese reading, less common.
くげ
こうかい

Etymology

The term is of Chinese origin, composed of 公 (public) and 廨 (office). It was used historically in Japan to denote government offices, but has fallen out of use in modern Japanese.