plotting; masterminding; planning a crime or intrigue
Formal noun for taking the leading role in planning a crime, rebellion, intrigue, or other wrongful scheme. Often appears in news or legal language with nouns such as 犯行, 事件, 反乱, or クーデター.
He was arrested on suspicion of being involved in masterminding the coup.
The prosecutors are investigating in detail how the crime was planned.
ringleader; mastermind; leader of a plot
Refers to the person at the center of a plot or organized wrongdoing. 首謀者 is the fuller and often more explicit person noun, but 首謀 itself can be used predicatively or in apposition.
See also: 首謀者
The police regard him as the mastermind behind the series of fraud cases.
It was reported that the ringleader of the rebellion had fled abroad.
He was arrested on suspicion of masterminding the terrorist incident.
Several people were arrested on suspicion of masterminding the rebellion.
黒幕 evokes a hidden power broker pulling strings from the shadows, whereas 首謀 is the neutral, formal term for whoever planned or led a scheme, hidden or not.
共謀 stresses conspiring together with others as equals, while 首謀 singles out the one at the top who led or planned the scheme.
ringleader; mastermind; leader of a plot
Standard and high-priority spelling, especially in news, legal, and incident-reporting contexts.
Attested variant spelling; 首謀 is the more prominent spelling.
A Sino-Japanese compound: 首 means 'head' or 'chief' and 謀 means 'plot' or 'scheme.' The variant 主謀 uses 主, 'main' or 'principal,' with the same reading.