also: かじゃ · かざ
noun
young person; young servant; young man who has come of age
Archaic term referring to a youth, especially a servant or a young man who has undergone the coming-of-age ceremony (genpuku) at around 16. Not used in modern Japanese.
古文書には「冠者」という言葉が若者や召使いを指して使われている。
In old documents, the word 冠者 is used to refer to a young person or a servant.
彼は元服を終えて冠者となった。
He completed his coming-of-age ceremony and became a 冠者 (young man of age).
Alternate historical reading; less common.
Alternate historical reading; less common.
From 冠 (kan, 'crown' or 'cap') + 者 (sha, 'person'), referring to the cap worn during the historical coming-of-age ceremony. The exact derivation of the alternate readings かじゃ and かざ is uncertain.