How do you express in Japanese that something is generally claimed to have a
certain property without positioning yourself to clearly as to the veracity of
the claim?

For example, how would you express the following sentence in Japanese:

> Reliquaries are the supposed bones of saints.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-22T13:43:21.440
36086
2016-09-04T23:15:55.370
2016-06-23T13:28:58.970
11104
12239
question
expressions
"Supposedly" in Japanese
I think all the comments provide good examples. In my experience though, the
most commonly used in this situation is also the simplest one: 言われている (or
思われている as well, like in the first comment that I initially somehow missed).

Checking on [weblio](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/supposedly) for example,
you can find the following example:

_He's supposedly 85 years old_ : 彼は 85 歳だといわれている.

Now, obviously this is just one example since as many people commented there
are other ways to express that. However, as I said in my experience this is
very commonly used. After all, if you think about it, "it is supposed that"
and "it is being said that" bear a similar, if not the same, meaning.

In this fashion your sentence could be translated as:

> 聖遺物{せいいぶつ}は聖者{せいじゃ}の骨{ほね}だと言われている。

EDIT: I changed the word 舎利 I originally used for reliquaries with 聖遺物 as
suggested by @Brandon in a comment. I agree that this is a more appropriate
choice in this context..supposedly. :)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-22T23:32:46.920
36103
2016-06-23T13:29:35.390
2016-06-23T13:29:35.390
11104
14205
36086
answer
“Supposedly” can be translated in various ways depending on the context, for
example:

> 多分, 恐らく, 想像するに, and 推測するところ.

[Oxford Advanced English Learners
Dictionary](http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/reliquary?q=reliquary)
defines "reliquary" as:

> a container in which a relic of a holy person is kept.

Kenkyusha's Readers Plus English Japanese Dictionary defines "Reliquary" as
聖骨箱.

If we follow both of the above definitions, the given line would be translated
as:

> 聖骨箱は聖人（ら）の遺骨を納めていると思われる。

舎利 means bones, but it's specifically applied to the bones of Buddha and
Buddhist saints' bones.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-23T22:52:03.900
36932
2016-07-24T01:04:18.100
2016-07-24T01:04:18.100
9831
12056
36086
answer
The word [supposedly] is often used in an ironic (slightly sarcastic) manner.

Both of Wiktionary's sample sentences contain this idea.

> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/supposedly>
>
>   * People from other planets have supposedly visited Earth in flying
> saucers.
>
>   * According to your testimony, you were supposedly at home watching TV
> when the murder occurred.
>
>

>
> Synonyms == allegedly, purportedly

2 of 11 sample sentences in Alc contain this idea.

> <http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=supposedly>
>
>   * supposedly egalitarian society === 建前｛たてまえ｝としての平等｛びょうどう｝主義｛しゅぎ｝の社会
>
>   * cheat someone by charging $__ for supposedly free visits ===
> 《イ》サイトの閲覧｛えつらん｝を無料｛むりょう｝だとして（人）をだまして＿ドルを課金｛かきん｝する
>
>

The latter half of Alc's definitions contain this (ironic) idea: [
建前｛たてまえ｝上は［としては］、一応｛いちおう｝は、一般｛いっぱん｝に信じられているところでは、～といわれている ]

Another way to express this idea is [... とされている ] or [ ...ということになっている ]
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-04T17:46:11.140
38949
2016-09-04T23:15:55.370
2016-09-04T23:15:55.370
9831
16344
36086
answer