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In my JLPT textbook, I have this sentence:

> 彼{かれ}は国民{こくみん}の信頼{しんらい}を裏切{うらぎ}った。それゆえに、権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を追{お}われることとなったのである。

I think this sentence means, "He betrayed the trust of the people. As a
result, it was the case that he was chased out of his seat of power." "Seat of
power" may be overly literal, it's probably more like his seat in the Diet or
something, but that's not the part I'm concerned with.

It's the `権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を追{お}われること` part. From the overall context of the
sentence, I'm guessing the guy was chased **from** the seat. But, from the
grammar, because of the `を` particle that points directly to the chair, it
feels like it _should_ mean the seat itself had been chased.

Am I right that it means the guy was chased from the chair? If so, why does
`座{ざ}を追{お}われる` not mean the chair got chased? If I'm wrong about the meaning,
then what does it mean?
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2014-04-17T09:00:06.677
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grammar
Is this seat being chased, or is the person in it being chased from it?
If the chair was chased, the phrase would be `権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}が追{お}われる`
passively or `権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を追{お}う` actively.

Back to the question, this `を` particle means `from`. I guess you have no
problem with `東京{とうきょう}を離{はな}れる` (move away from Tokyo). Another grammatically
correct phrase is `権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を離{はな}れる` (move away from the seat).

Actually, you can say `東京{とうきょう}を追{お}われる` for being chased away from Tokyo.
Analogously, you can say `権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を追{お}われる`. For me, the best way to
understand the phrase in question is, seeing `追{お}われる` as a substitute for
`離{はな}れる` or `去{さ}る` (leave).
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2014-04-17T16:33:47.700
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answer
(This answer may not satisfy a linguist but it may help understand how the
grammar works.)

I would say it is the same を as in 家を出る where it is used to mark the location
from where something moves.

I can see the same use in the Progressive E/J-J/E dictionary:

> 地位を追われる｜be ousted [driven] from one's post

I think this answers your question but if you are looking at the grammar to
understand why the chair did not get chased then there are some other points
worth considering.

First, this use of を was discussed fairly comprehensively in this question:
[Explain how 向{む}く "to face" can take "上{うえ}" as a direct object using
を?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/15221/explain-how-)

Second: Is 追われる intransitive? I would say it is in this example but:

  * When 追う is used actively (ie not in passive tense) to take different meanings it seems to be transitive because the を marks an object not a location of movement. The following examples came from the same dictionary: 

>
```

>         家畜を追う｜drive cattle ｟back to the barn｠  
>         泥棒 を追う｜pursue a thief  
>         流行を追う｜follow the fashion
>  
```

  * The expression is similar to 席を外す. Here again the を marks a location from where something moves but this verb is usually a transitive. My rationale (for anybody to challenge or confirm) is that 外す can be either transitive or intransitive. In this case it is intransitive but in the following case (taken from SpaceALC) it is transitive:

>
```

>       ～をメニューから外す |take ~ off the menu  (~ = direct object)
>  
```

(Note how the direct object, the item removed from the menus is marked by を
and as there can only be on をin a sentence the location from it moved, the
menu, is marked by から.)
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2014-04-18T05:31:41.987
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answer