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.
用心棒を雇う。
To hire a bodyguard.
彼はその店の用心棒をしている。
He works as a bouncer at that establishment.
江戸時代には、浪人が商家の用心棒として雇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.
戸に用心棒をかけた。
I barred the door.
夜になると用心棒をかけて寝る。
At night, I bar the door before going to sleep.
台風に備えて、窓や戸に用心棒をかけておいた。
In preparation for the typhoon, I barred the windows and doors.
CULTURE:
Made internationally famous by Kurosawa Akira's 1961 film 用心棒 (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 (caution, vigilance) + 棒 (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:
- 用心棒を雇う: to hire a bodyguard
- 用心棒をかける: to bar (a door)
- 用心棒代: bodyguard fee, protection money