Uchi-deshi 内弟子

A live-in disciple in a Japanese traditional art, who stays in the teacher's home or dojo, helps with daily chores and learns the craft full time.

Uchi-deshi literally means “inside student”. Japanese dictionaries define it as a disciple who lives in the teacher’s household and learns the teacher’s craft while helping with housework. Wikipedia describes the arrangement as full-time training under and service to a sensei, with the student living in the dōjō, the teacher’s home or close by, and lists kabuki, rakugo, shōgi, go, sumo, aikido and karate among the fields where it exists. Students who live outside are called soto-deshi.

Sources

  1. 内弟子 — Kotobank (Digital Daijisen; Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)
  2. Uchi-deshi — Wikipedia