noun
plotting; masterminding; planning a crime or intrigue
Formal noun for taking the leading role in planning a crime, rebellion, intrigue, or other wrongful scheme. Often appears in news or legal language with nouns such as 犯行, 事件, 反乱, or クーデター.
彼はクーデターの首謀に関わった疑いで逮捕された。
He was arrested on suspicion of being involved in masterminding the coup.
検察は犯行の首謀の経緯を詳しく
The prosecutors are investigating in detail how the crime was planned.
noun
ringleader; mastermind; leader of a plot
Refers to the person at the center of a plot or organized wrongdoing. 首謀者 is the fuller and often more explicit person noun, but 首謀 itself can be used predicatively or in apposition.
See also: 首謀者
警察は彼を一連の詐欺事件の首謀とみている。
The police regard him as the mastermind behind the series of fraud cases.
反乱の首謀は国外へ逃亡したと報じられた。
It was reported that the ringleader of the rebellion had fled abroad.
A more explicit noun for the person who masterminds a plot; often clearer than 首謀 when referring to a person.
Means a hidden mastermind or power behind the scenes; more colloquial and image-rich than the formal 首謀.
Means conspiring together; it emphasizes joint planning rather than the chief planner or ringleader.
A Sino-Japanese compound: 首 means 'head' or 'chief' and 謀 means 'plot' or 'scheme.' The variant 主謀 uses 主, 'main' or 'principal,' with the same reading.