also: ねんじゃ
careful and thorough person
Archaic term for a person who is meticulous, attentive, and thorough in their actions or work.
The old-timer said that he was a meticulous person who never overlooked anything.
older male in a homosexual relationship
Only with reading ねんじゃ
Archaic term for the older partner in a male homosexual relationship, often in the context of traditional wakashudō. The reading ねんじゃ is specifically associated with this sense.
See also: 若衆
Documents from the Edo period describe relationships between an older male partner (念者) and a younger male partner (若衆).
Standard kanji spelling for both senses; reading ねんしゃ is the primary reading.
Alternate reading used specifically for the archaic homosexual relationship sense.
The term is composed of 念 (care, thought) and 者 (person). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the first sense likely derives from the idea of a thoughtful person, while the second sense is a specialized archaic usage.