The culprit | The murderer - Geshinin

Japanese: 下手人∥解死人 - げしにん

The term geshinin, which refers to the person who actually carried out the crime, was already found in the 8th century Yoro Code, and has been used in roughly the same sense ever since. However, from around the 14th century, the term geshinin, written as kaishinin or shimoshinin, appeared. The Japanese Translation of the Japanese-Portuguese Dictionary states that geshinin refers to a person who is arrested or sentenced in place of the actual criminal. However, they are usually released as innocent. The dictionary adds the phrase geshinin to describe its usage, and states that geshinin means "to present or pull a kaishinin" to someone else as a criminal instead of oneself.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

下手人（げしゆにん）という直接の実行者をさす言葉は，すでに8世紀の養老律にみられ，以後今日までほぼ同じ意味でもちいられているが，いっぽう14世紀ころより，解死人･下死人とも書き，〈げしにん〉とよませる言葉があらわれる。《邦訳日葡辞書》には〈実際の罪人の代りに捕らえられたり，刑に処せられたりしている者。ただし，通常は無罪として放免される〉とあり，その用法として，〈解死人を出す，または，引く〉をのせ，〈自分の代りに誰かを罪人としてだす〉としている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Keshab Chandra Sen

>>: Cage rearing - Cage rearing