also: かこいめ
noun
Historical term for a woman financially supported by a man in a non-marital relationship; similar to 囲い者. Now largely archaic, encountered mainly in historical or literary contexts.
See also: 囲い者
江戸時代、裕福な商人は囲い女を持つことがあった。
In the Edo period, wealthy merchants sometimes kept a mistress.
「囲い女」は、今ではほとんど使われない古い言葉だ。
囲い女 is an old word that is hardly used nowadays.
Compound of 囲い (kakoi, 'enclosure' or 'keeping') and 女 (onna, 'woman'), literally 'kept woman'. The reading かこいめ uses the older kun'yomi め for 女.