1.
lustful; amorous; lecherous
having or showing excessive interest in sexual pleasure
好色な男だ。
He's a lecherous man.
好色な目つきで女性を見る。
He looks at women with lustful eyes.
あの上司は好色で有名なので、女性社員から嫌われている。
That boss is famous for being lecherous, so he is disliked by female employees.
2.
love of beauty; sensual appreciation
an appreciation of romantic or aesthetic beauty, especially in classical literature
『好色一代男』は有名な作品だ。
The Life of an Amorous Man is a famous work.
井原西鶴の好色物は江戸文学の傑作だ。
Ihara Saikaku's amorous tales are masterpieces of Edo literature.
古典文学における好色の概念は、現代とは異なる意味合いを持っていた。
The concept of koushoku in classical literature had a different nuance from its modern meaning.
Refers to excessive sexual desire or lechery in modern usage, but in classical Japanese literature it carried a broader, more aestheticized meaning closer to "the pursuit of romantic beauty."
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 好色な男 — lecherous man
- 好色な目つき — lustful gaze
- 好色漢 — lecher, womanizer
- 好色家 — libertine, rake
LITERARY CONTEXT:
井原西鶴's 好色一代男 (The Life of an Amorous Man, 1682) established 好色物 (amorous tales) as a major genre of Edo-period fiction. In this classical context, 好色 implied a sophisticated appreciation of romantic encounters rather than crude lust.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 色欲 — sexual desire (blunt, negative)
- 淫乱 — lewdness (strongly negative)
- 助平 — pervert, lecher (colloquial, mildly humorous)
- 女好き — womanizer (everyday, informal)