also: なんしょく
Historical term for male homosexuality, often in the context of pre-modern Japan. Not a neutral modern term; carries a classical or literary tone.
Many descriptions of male homosexuality appear in Edo-period documents.
Only with reading なんしょく
Archaic sense, read なんしょく. Refers to a male prostitute in historical contexts.
When read as なんしょく, 男色 can refer to a male prostitute of the past.
Standard kanji form for the reading だんしょく.
Archaic reading used only for the 'male prostitute' sense.
Compound of 男 (man) and 色 (color, love, sexual passion). The reading だんしょく is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; なんしょく is an older, now archaic reading.