wakashu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 若衆 (“young person”).

Noun

wakashu (plural wakashu)

1. (archaic) A boy after early childhood but before his coming-of-age ceremony
2. A role in kabuki traditionally played by a boy of this age category
3. The soldiers of the oyabun, who perform the tasks that the oyabun gives them without hesitation. (From the Japanese yakuza hierarchy.)

See also

• yakuza
• oyabun
• waka gashira
• shatei
• shatei gashira
• kyodai