余よ殃おう

noun

misfortune from ancestral sins; retribution for forebears' misdeeds

A literary or formal term for trouble or calamity believed to be caused by the sins or misdeeds of one's ancestors. Often contrasted with 余慶 (よけい, blessings from ancestral virtues).

Antonyms: 余慶

• 彼かれは家いえに伝つたわる余よ殃おうに苦くるしめられていると感かんじていた。

  He felt he was tormented by the misfortune brought on by his family's past sins.

• この物もの語がたりでは、先せん祖ぞの悪あく行ぎょうの余よ殃おうが子し孫そんに及およぶ。

  In this story, the retribution for the ancestors' misdeeds extends to their descendants.