Society

Japanese society during this period was organized around a rigid hierarchical class system, shaped by Confucian ideals of order and the political structure of the Tokugawa shogunate. Social position was largely fixed by birth, and movement between ranks was severely restricted.

The system recognized four main classes: the warriors, or samurai, who stood at the top; followed in the traditional ordering by peasants, who produced the rice on which society depended; then artisans; and finally merchants, who, despite their growing wealth, ranked lowest because they were seen as producing nothing themselves. Marriage between members of different classes was generally forbidden.

Beneath the four recognized classes lay the eta and other outcast groups, who were assigned tasks considered impure and were excluded from ordinary society. This stratified order governed daily life, occupation, and status until sweeping reforms transformed Japan in the later nineteenth century.