New Perspectives on Early Modern Japanese History, Vol. 5 Mibun Shakai no Ikikata (Living in a Status Society)

This book is part of the series that compiles research findings on early modern Japanese history, presenting a comprehensive picture of the period and providing insights into it. As the fifth volume in the series, this book explores how people lived during the Edo period.
 
Edo society has traditionally been regarded as a status-based society: bushi (the warrior class) remained bushi for generations, while hyakushō (peasants) remained hyakushō. Bushi ruled and wielded power; most hyakushō paid taxes as farmers, and chōnin (townspeople) ran family businesses as merchants and artisans. This is not entirely incorrect. How was this status system established? Were hyakushō and townspeople unable to become bushi? Conversely, did they not want to become bushi? Were hyakushō and chōnin also unable to freely choose their occupations and where to live? There must have been groups who faced discrimination, such as monks and other religious figures, prostitutes and entertainers, as well as kawata (marginalized leather workers) and hinin (outcastes and beggars). How were these groups formed? Considering this leads to another question: research shows that there were social realities, customs, ways of life, and occupations that cannot be understood simply by considering the system.
 
Let's think about "ways of life in modern society." For example, I spent my years in high school in a rural area and then went to a university in Tokyo. Thanks to circumstances, luck, and perhaps chance, I found a job in another region, but eventually changed jobs and now work in Tokyo. Like my parents, I could have stayed in my hometown and found a job instead of going to Tokyo. However, I did not choose this path. I have mentioned only my own example of affiliation and occupation, but society is built from countless ways of life. While "life is full of variety," there are also social issues and contradictions that cannot be dismissed so easily. While it may seem like we choose our occupations and "status," these choices are not entirely free. Of course, these choices depend on luck and chance, but they are also shaped by social conditions and the environment.
 
What about the Edo period? Was there freedom of choice? Perhaps the conditions that made this possible did not exist. Was it a feudal society with strict controls, a communal society with low productivity, and an underdeveloped market economy? On the contrary, was there more freedom and room for choice than assumed? Thus, our investigation deepens from various perspectives. Rather than simply saying "life is full of variety," if we consider systems, customs, attitudes, and the environment of Edo society and examine how people actually lived, this may also lead us to reflect on modern society and our own way of life. If this book could serve as a guide to such reflections, nothing would please me.
 

(Written by MAKIHARA Shigeyuki, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2025)