離り縁えん状じょう

noun

letter of divorce

Historical term for a formal document issued by a husband to divorce his wife during the Edo period; not used in modern divorce procedures.

• 江え戸ど時じ代だい、夫おっとは離り縁えん状じょうを書かいて妻つまを実じっ家かに帰かえすことができた。

  In the Edo period, a husband could write a letter of divorce and send his wife back to her family home.