noun
platform for displaying a decapitated head
Historical term for a stand used in public executions during the Edo period, where the severed head of a criminal was exhibited as a warning.
See also: 獄門
江戸時代には、罪人の首を獄門台にさらすことがあった。
In the Edo period, criminals' heads were sometimes displayed on a gokumondai.
Compound of 獄門 (gokumon, 'prison gate' or 'execution ground') and 台 (dai, 'stand' or 'platform'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is associated with Edo-period penal practices.