The culprit

Japanese: 下手人 - げしゅにん

〘noun〙① A person who has done something with his own hands. Especially a person who has committed a crime. The culprit. Geshinin. ※Gonki - October 10, 1000, Choho 2nd year "Please, I request that the Chief Cabinet Secretary be summoned to arrest the culprits, and I will continue to be held in high esteem." ※Kabuki - Kenuki (1742) "Are you planning to send the young lord to the culprit (geshunin) ?" [Tang Law - Solicitation and Discussion] ② A type of death penalty in the Edo Shogunate. Primarily applied to commoners who committed ordinary murder, this was the lightest death penalty, with the corpse not being used as a test specimen and no confiscation of fields, houses, etc. was added. Geshinin. ※Essays, Oritaku Shiba no Ki (around 1716), part 2: "In the early days of the previous era, there was a case where a man who killed his uncle was executed under the law of the culprit." [Essay] Originally, it is a Chinese word related to law, as seen in example ①, "Tang Law - Lawsuits and Discussions." Even in Japan, the Chinese writing style is often written as "shitanin." As a confirmed example of the reading, "geshinin" (a person who disposes of the dead) is seen earlier than "geshunin." This may indicate that the change from "geshunin" to "geshinin" was made quite early and was gaining influence. "Geshinin" was dominant in the Meiji period as well, but now "geshunin" is the norm.

Source: The Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary About the Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary Information

Japanese:

〘名〙① みずから手を下して事をなした者。特に、犯罪などをおかした者。張本人。げしにん。※権記‐長保二年（1000）一〇月一〇日「請云、止召重尹可捕下手人者、仍所被仰也」※歌舞伎・毛抜（1742）「さしづめ下手人(ゲシュニン)に若殿を出す心か」〔唐律‐鬭訟・疏議〕② 江戸幕府の死刑の一種。主として、一般の殺人罪を犯した庶民に適用された刑で、死刑としてはもっとも軽く、死骸が試物(ためしもの)にされず、田畑、家屋敷などの没収刑も付加されなかった。げしにん。※随筆・折たく柴の記（1716頃）下「前代の御初に、伯父殺せしもの下手人の法に行はれし例あり」[語誌]本来、①の挙例「唐律‐鬭訟・疏議」などに見える法律に関わる漢語。日本でも、漢文体の資料には「下手人」の表記が多い。読みの確例としては、「げしゅにん」より、むしろ「げしにん」（解死人）の方が古くに見られる。これは「げしゅにん」から「げしにん」への変化はかなり早い時期になされ、それが勢力を伸ばしていたことの現われか。明治期も「げしにん」が優勢だが、現在は「げしゅにん」が普通。

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