a type of corporation under Japanese law, analogous to an American business corporation or British public limited company
köken: Compound of 株式 (kabushiki, “stock”) + 会社 (gaisha, “corporation”). The kaisha changes to gaisha as an instance of rendaku (連濁). First cited to 1891 in the novel かくれんぼ (Kakurenbo, “Hide and Seek”) by 斎藤緑雨 (Saitō Ryokuu).