Historical term for a young person, often in a samurai or feudal context. Not used in modern everyday speech.
servant; errand boy (in a samurai family)
Specifically a low-ranking servant or errand boy in a samurai household during the Edo period or earlier.
person of lowly status; underling
General term for a person of low social rank in feudal Japan. Rare and historical.
The young servants were running around the castle.
When he was young, he worked as an errand boy for a samurai family.
Low-ranking underlings had no right to speak.
Compound of 小 (small, young) and 者 (person). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term was used in feudal Japan to denote young servants or low-ranking individuals.