Historical term for a member of the outcast class during the Edo period. Now considered discriminatory; used only in historical contexts.
See also: 穢多
low-ranking official with high salary (medieval China)
Archaic term referring to a specific bureaucratic rank in medieval China. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical studies.
During the Edo period, people called chōri faced severe discrimination.
At that temple, the chōri was in charge of training the monks.
In medieval China, a chōri was said to hold a low rank but receive a high salary.
Another high-ranking temple official; 長吏 may be subordinate or equivalent depending on the temple hierarchy.
The term 長吏 originally comes from Chinese bureaucratic titles. In Japan, it was adopted for temple administration and later applied to the outcast class during the Edo period. The exact semantic shift is uncertain.