noun
the public; the world; society
Refers to the wider world or public life, often with a nuance of the secular world outside one's immediate circle. Somewhat literary.
彼は江湖に身を投じた。
He threw himself into the world at large.
noun
rivers and lakes
Original literal meaning. Now mainly encountered in classical contexts or set phrases.
「江湖」はもともと川や湖を指す言葉だった。
Originally, 江湖 referred to rivers and lakes.
noun
Archaic sense for a retreat away from society, often associated with hermits. Not used in modern Japanese.
古い詩では、江湖は隠者の住まいを意味することがある。
In old poetry, 江湖 can mean a hermit's dwelling.
From Chinese 江湖 (jiānghú), literally 'rivers and lakes', which came to mean the world at large or a place of retreat. The reading ごうこ is an older, now obsolete, pronunciation.