外がい臣しん

noun

foreign retainer

Historical term for a retainer from outside the clan or country, often used in contexts of feudal Japan or East Asian history.

• 江え戸ど時じ代だい、外がい臣しんは幕ばく府ふに仕つかえる外がい国こく出しゅっ身しんの家か臣しんを指さした。

  In the Edo period, 外臣 referred to retainers of foreign origin serving the shogunate.