As you probably know, I take Japanese classes at school - which is the reason why I write about this country a lot. On Monday, we learned there that, almost like in India, the Japanese society was divided in several different castes. It’s called the Japanese feudal class system.
During the Edo period (which is the one we’re working on in class), that lasted from 1603 to 1868, there were 8 different “castes” in Japan, some being represented by only one or very few people. Their are ranked depending on their “level” of utility in the Japanese society.
There has always been an Emperor in Japan. he was considered as a God and lived in his very own castle in Kyoto, called the Golden Pavilion. Although he is godlike and considered as a holy figure, his role during the Edo era was purely symbolic, and the Emperor barely had any political power. This year, the Japanese Emperor is going to change, hence also creating a shift in the era Japan is in (which depends on the Emperor’s dynasty).
He is the one who actually detains the power and takes the political decisions, and hence somehow takes the Emperor’s place and role. He lives in Edo (now known as a small town you may have heard of once or twice, called Tokyo). He has an administrative and primordial role, since he’s the one who rules the country.
They were the ones who owned and ruled the fiefs. However, they had to obey the orders of the Shogun, hence they were under the obligation to come see him and live in Edo with him a year out of two - the rest of the time, they were allowed to stay in their fiefs. Nevertheless, their wives and children had to stay with the Shogun, hence making their life tough, since it’s never easy to stay away from your family. The travel from the fiefs to Edo was usually made on foot, which meant that since the Lords were taking all of their suite with them, it created huge processions, called the Sankinkotai (さんきんこうたい).
4. The Bushis (ぶし), also called Samurais (さむらい)
Everyone has already heard of Samurais, I think, but most people have a quite biaised image of what they really are. Their job was basically to be warriors and to protect the Shogun and the Lords, as well as their families. However, the Edo era not only was a time during which Japan was an almost completely closed country, but also a time of peace. Therefore Samurais didn’t really have a lot of work to do at the time. However, they were still very powerful and respected by everyone around them, as people used to bow down when they saw a Samurai in the streets, for instance. Since they didn’t work anymore, they started putting interest in traditionnal arts, such as the ikebana (いけ花), that is to say the art of creating harmonious and balanced bouquets.
They (obviously) lived in the countryside, and were extremely poor. Somehow like it was the case in France during the Middle Ages, they paid taxes to the Lords and to the Shogun with the product of their work, that is to say with their harvests. Most of the time, they cultivated rice, but they actually paid their taxes thanks to it, because it was considered as a luxury meal, that was only eaten by the people of the highest classes.
They were the ones who built houses, furnitures, etc, and most of them lived in big cities. As well as the farmers, they were very numerous, but unlike them, they didn’t necessarily work for the powerful figures, but rather for people of same-level castes.
They were on the lowest rank of the Japanese caste system - indeed, since they only sold what other people had made without themselves doing anything, they weren’t considered as useful as others. Most of them became rich by selling the farmer’s rice to the Lords, and used to live in big cities, such as Edo or Osaka. They were also cultured people, who knew a lot about arts, like traditionnal prints or theatre.
Finally, like in the Indian society, there were some outcaste people (about 3% of the total population), who did quite the same jobs as the Indian Untouchables : butchers, cleaners, people who were directly in contact with flesh, blood, both human and animal body fluids in general; and as it is the case in India, they were rejected by people from the other castes. On top of that and just like in India, jobs were hereditary, which meant that you were supposed to do the same job as your father, who did the same job as his father, etc. Therefore, once you’re born in a class, you can never get out of it.
Fortunately, with the arrival of the Meiji era in 1868, Japan started to open up by welcoming strangers in the country, for instance. The Emperors also tried to modernize the country with scientific and social advances, thanks to which nowadays, the Japanese feudal class system has completely disappeared.
