用心棒(ようじんぼう)

ようじんぼう
noun
bodyguard; security bar (for a door)
persontool
1. bodyguard, hired guard
A person hired to protect someone or guard a place. Originally referred to a samurai hired for personal protection, now used more broadly.
用心棒(ようじんぼう)を雇(やと)う。
To hire a bodyguard.
彼(かれ)はその店(みせ)の用心棒(ようじんぼう)をしている。
He works as a bouncer at that establishment.
江戸時代(えどじだい)には、浪人(ろうにん)が商家(しょうか)の用心棒(ようじんぼう)として雇(やと)われることがあった。
In the Edo period, masterless samurai were sometimes hired as bodyguards for merchant households.
2. security bar, door bar
A wooden or metal bar placed across a door for security. The original, literal meaning of the word.
戸(と)に用心棒(ようじんぼう)をかけた。
I barred the door.
夜(よる)になると用心棒(ようじんぼう)をかけて寝(ね)る。
At night, I bar the door before going to sleep.
台風(たいふう)に備(そな)えて、窓(まど)や戸(と)に用心棒(ようじんぼう)をかけておいた。
In preparation for the typhoon, I barred the windows and doors.

Cultural note

Made internationally famous by Kurosawa Akira's 1961 film 用心棒(ようじんぼう) (Yojimbo), which depicts a wandering samurai who plays two rival factions against each other. The word carries strong associations with samurai culture and Edo-period Japan.

Etymology

用心(ようじん) (caution, vigilance) + 棒(ぼう) (stick, bar). The original meaning was the physical bar used to secure a door. The meaning then extended to a person who provides security.

Common collocations

Related Words

Related: 用心(ようじん) (caution, vigilance)
general
Added 2026.2.25 23:04 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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