also: ひとや
noun
General term for a place of confinement; can be used for both modern and historical contexts. The reading ごく is more common, while ひとや is a less frequent alternative reading.
彼は罪を犯して獄に入れられた。
He committed a crime and was put in prison.
その城の地下には昔の獄が残っている。
An old prison remains in the basement of that castle.
Rare kanji spelling for the reading ひとや, using characters for 'person' and 'building'.
Rare gikun (irregular kanji usage) spelling for ごく, using characters for 'prisoner' and 'prison'.
The kanji 獄 originally depicts a place of confinement with dogs guarding it, symbolizing a prison. The reading ごく is the on'yomi, while ひとや is a native Japanese reading combining 人 (person) and 屋 (building).