person with a skin disease; syphilitic patient
Dated colloquial term, now largely replaced by medical vocabulary. Historically used as a derogatory label for someone with visible skin lesions, especially syphilis.
In the past, some people were discriminated against by being called 'kasakaki'.
Standard kanji spelling for this dated colloquial term.
Variant with kana for the second character; less common but still encountered.
Compound of 瘡 (かさ, 'skin sore, scab') and 掻き (かき, nominal form of 掻く 'to scratch'). Literally 'scab-scratcher', referring to a person with visible skin lesions. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term reflects pre-modern attitudes toward skin diseases.