also: じょうしゃ · しょうしゃ · せいしゃ · せいじゃ
noun
prosperous person; powerful person
Refers to a person who is flourishing, influential, or at the height of their power. Often used in literary or historical contexts, such as the famous opening of the Heike Monogatari: 盛者必衰 (the prosperous must decline).
盛者必衰のことわざの通り、彼の権力も長くは続かなかった。
As the proverb 'the prosperous must decline' says, his power did not last long.
歴史を振り返ると、盛者と呼ばれた人々
Looking back at history, even those called prosperous people eventually fell.
Alternate reading; less common than しょうじゃ.
Alternate reading; less common than しょうじゃ.
Alternate reading; less common than しょうじゃ.
栄華 refers to glory or splendor in a broader sense, often describing a state or period, while 盛者 specifically denotes a person who is prosperous.
権力者 is a more neutral, modern term for a person in power, whereas 盛者 carries a literary, somewhat archaic nuance of flourishing and inevitable decline.
Compound of 盛 (prosperous) and 者 (person). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is strongly associated with classical Chinese and Japanese literature, particularly the concept of impermanence.