also: ばんしゅ
Historical term for a guard serving a daimyo, the emperor, or a similar high-ranking figure in pre-modern Japan.
In the Edo period, guards protected the daimyo's residence.
番衆の役目は、夜間の見回りも含まれていた。
The duties of the guards included night patrols as well.
Standard kanji spelling for this historical term.
Alternate reading; less common than ばんしゅう.
Compound of 番 (ban, 'watch, guard') and 衆 (shū, 'group, people'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term straightforwardly describes a group of guards.