Social Classes of Japan

Emperor Japan’s emperor was considered to be the head of Japan and the Shinto religion. Although early Japanese emperors had a fair amount of power, they later lost this power and became figurehead rulers under the control of Japan’s shoguns. This meant they were only leaders in name and had little real power. Even though the emperor relied on the shogun’s clan for support, he was still considered to be the highest ranking person in Japan’s social pyramid and had to give his approval to anyone who wanted to become shogun.

Shogun The shogun was part of the warrior class, and considered to be a noble. The shogun was the military leader of Japan. Leaders of different clans often fought to acquire the title of shogun because it was the shogun who ruled over Japan. Emperors gave the shogun power to rule Japan in exchange for the promise that they would maintain the peace and order in the country. To accomplish this, shoguns gave the daimyo land to rule over in exchange for their service and loyalty. In this arrangement (known as feudalism), the shogun ranked just under the emperor and was supported by the other classes in Japan supported him in return for protection and privileges (e.g. land, food, government jobs, etc.).

Daimyo The daimyo were part of the warrior class and acted as the shogun's representatives in the countryside of Japan. In exchange for land from the shogun, daimyo ruled over their territories according to the shogun’s laws and used their swords to carry out the shogun’s commands. Ranking above the samurai, daimyo each had their own land and armies, and were not expected to pay taxes to the shogun. While daimyo usually served the shogun, they would occasionally fight one another as well as the shogun. This typically happened when the shogun was weak and different daimyo wanted to take power for themselves to become the next shogun & rule over Japan.

Samurai The samurai were members of Japan’s warrior class. Samurai were trained, professional warriors who served the shogun and their daimyo in exchange for food, shelter, and money. Both in battle and in everyday life, the samurai lived according to a code of behavior known as “bushido,” which placed importance on honor, respect, and loyalty. While samurai are one of the things most people think about when asked about Japan, they only made up about 10% of Japan’s population during the 600s to 1800s and did not have very much power in politics. While almost all samurai served one master or another, one group of samurai known as “ronin” had no masters and essentially worked as bodyguards and mercenaries to earn a living. Occasionally, they would also resort to theft and violence if regular work could not be found. Because of these things, ronin had little social status in Japan’s social pyramid.

Artisans The artisans were the craftspeople who made a variety of wood and metal products to meet the day to day needs and wants of the other classes in Japan. Artisans made a variety of products that included tools, buildings, and weapons. Because of the skill with which they worked, artisans in Japan ranked just above the peasant in the social pyramid, with Japanese sword-makers being some of the most highly respected because of their ability to craft high quality steel weapons.

Peasants Peasants were the largest social class in Japan, making up about 90% of the population and included both farmers and fishermen. They had very low social status, no political power, and were very poor. Despite this, they were seen as being important to society because they grew food for everyone else. Peasants paid taxes to the daimyo and shogun in the form of rice and labor, oftentimes starving when they had to give up more than two-thirds of their crops to the upper classes in return for being able to stay on their land.

Merchants Merchants sold food and products produced by the other classes of Japan. Even though merchants often had more money than peasants and samurai in some cases, they had very little social status and were seen as unimportant because they didn’t make anything themselves and lived off profits made from other people’s work. So low was the respect for these people that they were often made to live in separate locations and not allowed to mix with other classes except to do business.

Women in Japan In Japan, women were expected to be good mothers and wives by raising children and supporting their husbands. Moreover, women who were wives or daughters of samurai were taught how to fight and expected to defend their homes and children during times of war when their husbands were away fighting. Before the rise of the samurai class in the 1300s and 1400s, Japanese families were organized around matrilineal lines. Yet over time, women were gradually seen as being second to men as a result of Confucianism and Buddhism gaining popularity in Japan (both belief systems were very male-dominated and saw women as not being equal to men).