also: くげしゅ
court nobles; courtiers; people of the Imperial Court
Collective term for the kuge, the aristocratic class serving the Imperial Court in pre-modern Japan. Often contrasted with 武家衆 (buke-shū), the warrior class.
See also: 武家衆
公家衆は朝廷の儀式に参加した。
The court nobles participated in the ceremonies of the Imperial Court.
戦国時代、公家衆と武家衆の交流が増えた。
During the Warring States period, interaction between the court nobles and the warrior class increased.
Singular or general term for a court noble; 公家衆 explicitly refers to the group or class as a whole.
Standard kanji spelling for the collective term for court nobles.
Alternate reading; less common than くげしゅう.
Compound of 公家 (kuge, 'court noble') and 衆 (shū, 'group of people'). The reading くげしゅ is a variant, possibly influenced by the on'yomi of 衆.