noun
Refers to a large-scale, often politically motivated, mass arrest or roundup of people. The term carries a historical or dramatic weight and is not used for ordinary police operations.
幕末の大獄で多くの志士が捕らえられた。
Many patriots were arrested in the mass roundup at the end of the Edo period.
その政権は反対派の大獄を行った
The regime carried out a wholesale arrest of the opposition.
Composed of 大 (large, great) and 獄 (prison, jail). The term likely originated in historical contexts to describe large-scale political purges or mass imprisonments.