noun
secret male lover
Archaic term for a man kept hidden as a lover, often in historical or literary contexts. Modern equivalents include 隠し恋人 or 秘密の恋人.
江戸時代の物語には、しばしば隠し男が登場する。
In stories from the Edo period, a secret male lover often appears.
Compound of 隠し (kakushi, 'hidden') + 男 (otoko, 'man'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it follows a common pattern for describing concealed relationships in pre-modern Japanese.