自ら|みずからmizukara[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounoneself
   彼かれは自みずからを日本にっぽんのエジソンと称しょうした。↗

   He called himself an Edison of Japan.
2. adverboneself; for oneself; personally; in person
   大統領だいとうりょう自みずから我々われわれに話はなしかけた。↗

   The President himself addressed us.

• Synonym自身じしんNeutralRefers to the person themselves, stressing 'that very one', as in 「私自身」; 「自ら」 stresses doing something in person or on one's own initiative.
• Synonym自分じぶんNeutralThe everyday, most colloquial word for oneself. 「自ら」 leans written and stresses acting personally and of one's own accord.
• Synonym自己じこWrittenWritten-style, used mostly in compounds such as 「自己紹介」「自己責任」. 「自ら」 stresses doing something in person.
• Synonym本人ほんにんNeutralRefers to the person concerned, the party involved, as in 「本人確認」. 「自ら」 stresses doing something in person oneself.
• Synonym自分自身じぶんじしんNeutralAn emphatic form of 「自分」 meaning oneself, with added stress. 「自ら」 stresses acting personally and proactively.
• Related我われWrittenA written, literary word for I or oneself, as in 「我を忘れる」. 「自ら」 stresses doing something in person.
• Antonym他者たしゃWrittenAntonym on the self–other axis: a written-style word for others, people other than oneself.
• Antonym他人たにんNeutralThe everyday antonym on the self–other axis: other people, someone outside oneself, even a stranger or outsider.

Use 「自ら」 for doing something in person and of one's own initiative, as in 「自ら進んで」「自ら命を絶つ」. For everyday 'oneself' say 「自分」; to stress 'that very person' use 「自身」; for the person concerned use 「本人」. The opposites are 「他人」 and 「他者」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 自分自身じぶんじしん。
2. 自分じぶんから。自分じぶんで。