KT05 Word Line
いなせ
鯔背
Inase
Use the left and right arrow keys, or swipe the sign, to move to the next word.
Meaning
dashing and stylish
Spirited, straightforward, and stylish; also, a young person with that kind of temperament.
Example
法被を着た課長は、いつもと違っていなせに見えた。
Wearing a happi coat, the section chief looked unusually dashing.
Origin
There are several theories about its origin, and the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten lists it as unknown. One theory traces it to inase-ichō, a topknot worn by the young men of the fish market that resembled the back of an ina (a young gray mullet). In Tsukuda-bushi songs from around the Bunsei era (1818 to 1830), the spirit of the young men of Kanda was sung of as inase. According to the Morisada Mankō, the word was also applied to people's character and to goods, and was not always a compliment.