noun
Archaic term used in the Edo period for Westerners, especially the Dutch, literally 'red-haired people'. Cross-referenced with 南蛮人.
See also: 南蛮人
江戸時代、紅毛人は主にオランダ人を指した。
In the Edo period, 紅毛人 mainly referred to the Dutch.
南蛮人 referred broadly to Southern Europeans (Portuguese, Spanish) in the 16th–17th centuries, while 紅毛人 later specified Northern Europeans, especially the Dutch.
From 紅毛 (red hair) + 人 (person), reflecting the reddish hair of Northern Europeans encountered in the Edo period.