noun
Historical term for a member of the outcast class during the Edo period. Now considered discriminatory; used only in historical contexts.
See also: 穢多
江戸時代、長吏と呼ばれる人々は厳しい差別を受けた。
During the Edo period, people called chōri faced severe discrimination.
noun
temple administrator
Buddhist term for a high-ranking official managing temple affairs, comparable to positions like zasu or bettō.
その寺では長吏が修行僧の指導にあたっていた。
At that temple, the chōri was in charge of training the monks.
noun
low-ranking official with high salary (medieval China)
Archaic term referring to a specific bureaucratic rank in medieval China. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical studies.
中国中世の長吏は、位は低いが俸禄は高かったとされる。
In medieval China, a chōri was said to hold a low rank but receive a high salary.
Another high-ranking temple official; 長吏 may be subordinate or equivalent depending on the temple hierarchy.
The term 長吏 originally comes from Chinese bureaucratic titles. In Japan, it was adopted for temple administration and later applied to the outcast class during the Edo period. The exact semantic shift is uncertain.