In modern times, human rights are claimed as a matter of course in the world, but it is only recently that human rights have been guaranteed, and even in Japan, people without human rights have historically seen them. But it existed.
In the Edo period, it is said that the place to live was decided by the status of farmers, merchants, craftsmen, etc., led by the ruling class samurai.
This time, I would like to write about the social division system of the Edo period and the lives of those people.
The identification system in the Edo period is not the occupation of the occupation! ??
Speaking of the identification system in the Edo period, [ Four occupations ] The term comes to mind in many cases.
However, in recent years, it has come to be said that the occupational name is simply a term that does not represent the social division system. Tracing back, it is a general public in Chinese four-letter idioms. It seems that it means.
I wasn't the only one who was surprised to read this, because I learned that at that time I was in elementary school and created an identification system called the Occupational Occupation to control people during the Edo period.
However, the current elementary school social studies textbook says [ Four occupations ] Word is not found.
The current textbook says:
"Society in the Edo period was made up of people of various statuses, including the ruler samurai, peasants and tradesmen."
"Also, there were some people who had been severely discriminated against, apart from peasants and tradesmen. Among the discrimination, these people engaged in agriculture and handicrafts, entertained people with performing arts, and security, etc. And supported society. "
Tokyo Shoseki "New Society 6"
Similarly, the Meiji Restoration abolished the social division system of the Edo period, resulting in four people's equality . I have been told that I have become. This four people Is [ Four occupations ] It is now thought that I have assumed that.
The samurai were certainly the ruling class, but agricultural and industrial There is no order between them, and the word "Four occupations" is [ all people . ] Was a word like that. Therefore, the view of the position under the occupation is fundamentally wrong.
Furthermore, the Edo period was a feudal society. The samurai who seemed to be non-discriminatory were not always free to marry, nor could they choose a job.
I think that many people, including myself, learned the occupation system of the Edo period from the textbook based on the pyramid-shaped occupation of the occupation.
However, in recent years, research has progressed and textbooks have changed significantly. As a result of this research, samurai, peasants, townspeople It was said that it was more suitable for the actual situation to divide the status into three categories.
Edo period social division and population ratio
In fact, it is said that the status system existed in the Edo period, and the shogunate made people samurai, peasants, tradesmen . It is said that a system has been established to distinguish it from.
Tradesmen are said to live in relatively large castle towns such as Edo.
Peasants are mainly farmers, and more than 80% of the total population in the Edo period were farmers. The tradesmen were merchants and craftsmen (carpenters, etc.) who lived in big cities. As a general rule, samurai and tradesmen were inherited from their parents to their eldest sons.
Also, I couldn't change my status on my own. The place to live is determined by this status and occupation, and in principle it is not possible to live in any other place.
In addition, the place to live is almost decided by the status, occupation, family, etc., and in principle it was not possible to live in any other place.
Population ratio by status
Total population during the Edo period:32 million
Peasant:Approximately 85%
Samurai:About 7%
Tradesman:Approximately 5%
Monk / Kuge / Eta / Hinin:Approximately 3%
Samurai privileges and place of residence
The samurai are the rulers of the Edo period, and the shogun stands at the top. Ashigaru, shogunate officials, and shoguns are samurai in terms of status. As a samurai's privilege, give your surname or have a sword (sword) Was allowed.
Also, truncation exemption I was also given the privilege of being able to cut it if a person with a lower status acted disrespectfully against the samurai.
The place where the samurai live was mainly set to live near the castle even in the castle town.
Townspeople involved in town politics
The merchants and craftsmen who supported the consumer life of the samurai class living in the castle town were called tradesmen, and they accounted for about 5% of the total population. In particular, he was involved in the politics of the town. The hierarchy called】 had a strong voice in exchange for certain taxes and work.
The highly skilled craftsmen and the well-funded merchants also overwhelmed the samurai and formed their own tradesman culture.
There is a class gap among the townspeople, from the capitalist class who owns a house on the front street and the lower townspeople on the back street, and the wealthy people also participate in town administration and public affairs and have the right to vote and eligibility for election. I had it.
As a social role of the wealthy, it was customary to rent a Nagaya to a store clerk for a small rent. From there, he hired a landlord to collect rent from the shopkeepers and manage the Nagaya.
Peasants and their homes
Most of the peasants, who account for more than 80% of the total population, were farmers, but some also engage in fishing and forestry. They mainly lived in rural areas away from the castle town and engaged in the primary industry.
Farmers have land Honbyakusho And no land mizunomi-bye Was distinguished by.
For peasants, 40 to 50% of the harvest is collected as an annual tribute, and depending on the age, 60% may be taken. Throughout the Edo period, it seems that there were many [five public and five people] of 50%.
The crop that became the annual tribute was mainly rice, but it was sometimes replaced with special products depending on the region.
The clan selects a person from the Honbyakusho to pay the annual tribute, and that person is [master] [Kumigashira] [hyakushodai] . It was called and collected. About the master =[ Nanushi ] It is also said that this one may be more familiar to your ears.
About eta and hinin
Also, during the Edo period, in addition to samurai, peasants, and tradesmen, [ Eta, Hinin ] Was set.
[ Eta ] Is dirty It is said that it comes from, and as the name suggests, it refers to a person who is in a dirty profession. For example, there were various jobs such as those who process the skins of dead animals, those who clean up festivals, and those who execute sinners.
On the other hand, [ Hinin ] Is mainly composed of those who lost the war, sinners, and those who were kidnapped as slaves, and also those who were born in Hininma. Since western Japan is historically old, it is said that its constituents were many and complicated.
The people of Eta and Hinin were discriminated against because of this, and they were not allowed to marry ordinary people and lived in a limited area.
Purpose and background of the social division system in the Edo period
It is said that the reason for establishing the social division system in this era is to make it easier for the samurai class, such as shoguns and feudal lords, to manage ordinary tradesmen. In addition, the Tokugawa Shogunate is said to have used the failure of the samurai government in the past as a teacher.
The failure is the [ Mongol invasion of the Kamakura period. ] And the Muromachi period [ Onin War 】is.
Mongol invasion Then, the former attacked Japan and repelled it brilliantly with the success of the Gokenins, but dissatisfaction exploded without being able to give a reward after that, and the Kamakura Shogunate became a factor to perish.
Onin War in the Muromachi period Then, the authority of the shogun was lost, and the daimyo were out of control, and there were frequent rebellions in various places. Eventually, the Muromachi Shogunate was destroyed by Nobunaga Oda in 1573 when the daimyo of each region began to take power.
With reference to the failure of the samurai government in the past, the Edo Shogunate focused on implementing policies for daimyo, farmers, and other countries.
https://rekisi-daisuki.com/entry/2017-11-04-231645
Main measures of the Edo Shogunate
The Edo Shogunate, which was careful about these past failures of the Shogunate, will take various measures.
Main policies of the Edo Shogunate- Foreign policy ⇒ Sakoku
- Daimyo policy ⇒ Buke shohatto
- People's policy ⇒ Establishment of social division
This status system was the policy to control the farmers. If the overwhelmingly large number of farmers in the population are united and a riot is caused, the shogunate cannot leave it alone. Therefore, it seems that they decided to dispel the dissatisfaction of the farmers by creating the lowest layer such as hinin and hinin under the peasants and tradesmen.
Keian's Tactile Book
In addition, we have issued a memorandum to control the lives of farmers.
The content is
Keian's Tactile Book (Summary Version)- Obey the law and respect the deputies and masters
- Do not buy and drink alcohol or tea. Same for wives and children
- Farmers eat millet and don't eat a lot of rice
- Farmers should not wear anything other than linen and cotton
- Go to bed early, get up early, weed in the morning, cultivate fields in the daytime, sew ropes in the evening, and work hard
- A man farms, a wife works hard at weaving and works at night ...
- Do not smoke
In terms of content, the peasant is incredibly black in modern times, saying that he should be frugal and work at night.
Spread of Christianity and isolation policy
In this way, the shogunate took a break from controlling samurai, tradesmen, and peasants, but events that overturned this system began to occur in Japan.
That is the spread of Christianity was.
According to Christian teaching, [ all human beings are equal ] Therefore, the shogunate thought that the social division itself would be jeopardized if this teaching spread. Therefore, we will ban Christianity and encourage Confucianism, but Christianity is already widespread, and a person called a Christian daimyo has begun to appear.
So, to crack down on Christianity, 1612 The Shogunate issued a Christianity ban on the staff and punished those who still did not abandon their faith.
In Nagasaki, we set up a painting system and a terauke system to suppress Christianity. Tokugawa Iemitsu was 1635 In addition, the Japanese travel was banned and the trading of the Shuinsen was stopped. The Portuguese who lived in Nagasaki were moved to Dejima, and exchanges with Japanese people were restricted.
Due to the persecution of Christianity and the collection of harsh annual tributes, the people of Shimabara and the Amakusa region caused a riot with Amakusa Shiro as the general [ Shimabara Rebellion . ] Will occur. After this turmoil, the Shogunate expelled the Portuguese and restricted trade to only Chinese and Dutch ships.
Such a policy that restricts exchanges with foreign countries is [ isolated 】Is called.
With this isolation policy, Japan will create its own culture.