pillory; burden; shackle around one's neck
Literally a wooden frame locked around the neck as punishment; figuratively, a heavy burden or obligation that restricts one's freedom.
Debt has become a burden around my neck, and I can't move freely.
Criminals in the past were put in a pillory and exposed to public shame.
Standard kanji spelling.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling, sometimes used for clarity.
Rarely used kanji form.
Compound of 首 (kubi, 'neck') and 枷 (kase, 'shackles'). The figurative sense of 'burden' developed from the literal restraining device.