noun
commoner; person of low rank
Formal or literary term for a commoner, often contrasted with nobility or officials. Rare in modern Japanese; the reading ほい is more common for the same kanji.
See also: 布衣 (ほい)
古い文献では、布衣は庶民を指す言葉として使われた。
In old documents, 布衣 (ふい) was used as a term for common people.
Formal/literary kanji spelling for 'commoner'. Not in common use; the reading ほい is more common for this kanji form.
From Chinese 布衣 (bùyī), literally 'cloth clothes', referring to the simple clothing of commoners. The reading ふい is the on'yomi of the kanji.