noun
commoner; person of low rank
Formal or literary term for a commoner, often contrasted with nobility or officials. Rare in modern Japanese; the reading ほい is more common for the same kanji.
See also: 布衣 (ほい)
古い文献では、布衣は庶民を指す言葉として使われた。
In old documents, 布衣 (ふい) was used as a term for common people.
From Chinese 布衣 (bùyī), literally 'cloth clothes', referring to the simple clothing of commoners. The reading ふい is the on'yomi of the kanji.