also: らしゃめん · ラシャメン
noun
Rare term for sheep; the word is usually written in kana. This sense is uncommon and may be encountered only in historical or specialized contexts.
古い文献では、ラシャめんが羊を指すことがある。
In old documents, ラシャめん can refer to sheep.
noun
foreigner's mistress
Obsolete derogatory term for a Japanese woman who was the mistress of a foreign man, especially during the late Edo to early Meiji period. The term originated from the belief that Western sailors kept sheep on their ships for sexual purposes.
See also: 洋妾
幕末の開港地では、ラシャめんと呼ばれる女性たちがいた。
In the treaty ports of the late Edo period, there were women called ラシャめん.
Rarely used kanji form.
A more formal historical term for a foreigner's mistress, without the derogatory nuance of ラシャめん.
The word is a compound of ラシャ (raxa, a type of woolen cloth) and 綿 (men, cotton), originally referring to sheep. The second sense arose from the derogatory belief that Western sailors kept sheep on their ships for sexual purposes.