瞽女ごぜ

noun

blind female traveling performer; goze

Historical term for a blind woman who traveled and earned a living by singing, playing the shamisen, or performing other arts; associated with a specific social role in pre-modern Japan.

• 瞽女ごぜは三味線しゃみせんを弾ひきながら歌うたを歌うたって生せい計けいを立たてていた。

  Goze made a living by singing songs while playing the shamisen.

• 新にい潟がた県けんには瞽女ごぜの文ぶん化かが今いまも伝つたえられている。

  The culture of goze is still passed down in Niigata Prefecture.