Merchants&Artisans2

media type="custom" key="8464610" Artisans were the second to lowest class in the social hierarchy of the Edo period of Japan, although occasionally extraordinary artisans were given samurai privileges, such as the right to wear two swords. They sometimes were allowed the use of a surname, a symbol of status that others sometimes were not allowed. When working for a daimyo or shogun, though, they were allowed both of these, and were treated with much respect, especially the sword makers. The swords of Japan in that period were treated with a mystical significance, and because of this, before manufacturing a blade a sword-maker would fast and undergo ritual purification. The sword makers, like priests, would wear white robes as they worked, and would not allow impurities into their swords. The samurai believed that to uphold the code of honor, not only they had to follow the code of bushido, but the artisans who make their swords must, too. A sword was infused with the personality of their maker, and so the sword-makers could not be dishonorable or cruel, much like the samurai.

There were many different types of artisans, because there were many different crafts they could practice. There were dyers, sake-brewers, carpenters, sawyers, six plasterers, coopers, shingle-layers, thatchers, paper- makers, tobacco-cutters, tilers and mat-makers. The chonin (townspeople) of Edo organized these artisans into guilds based on practice to limit the amount of any one type of artisan, and because of this master-follower relationships similar to those of the samurai appeared.

The artisans lived in certain sections based on their craft, and so the chonin, who were 50% of the population, were crammed into 20% of the city. For example, say, the south-west corner of the city would be inhabited by carpenters, and the south-east would be inhabited by paper-makers. The artisans were the only social class that could come close to the samurai, and be similar to them, unlike the merchants or the farmers, who were stuck with their lot from birth. A farmer would always be a farmer, a merchant will always be a merchant, but an artisan could make the swords of a samurai and carry them themselves, as long as they followed the code of bushido.

The merchants were always at the bottom of their social class, because of how society considered them. They were considered people who only cared about money and had no regards for Japan’s economy. However, their position gradually began to rise. As they grew in importance, they started having great impact on the samurai. Although it was still prohibted to be a samurai, they started to have power over the samurai by using their money, and the samurai became poor and impoverished. A merchant’s day started promptly at 6 am, when they opened their stores and started reeling in customers. It was quite a ruckus when the shutters were flung open at the start of the day, enough to wake any of the chonin who were still asleep even at the break of dawn. Most merchants were looked down upon because they were considered parasites on the economy, and it isn’t hard to imagine life must be hard for them, despite them being the wealthiest members of the social hierarchy of Japan. It must have taken some nerve to continue to live out their lives and keep selling their products, despite being looked down upon by other members of society, who viewed them as low, low beings who were only concerned with money. That money might have made their lives easier, however, since most merchants were very wealthy from selling their wares and money-changing, although not all merchants were rich. Many were very poor and life was difficult for them, especially if there was already a surplus of the goods they were selling. The large range of income was due to the fact that merchants did not receive salaries: they relied on their daily trading for any money they wanted.

SOURCES:

Dunn, Charles James. //Everyday Life in Traditional Japan[by] C.J. Dunn. Drawings by Laurence Broderick//. Boston: C E Tuttle Co, 2000. Print. Deal, William E. //Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan.// New York: Facts on File, inc., 2006. Print. Odijk, Pamela. //The Japanese//. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Sliver Burdett Press, 1991. Print.


 * OUTLINE**

-What was it like to live as a merchant? -What was it like to live as an artisan? -Why were merchants the lowest class? -Why did their status grow?     
 * Day started at 6 am, when the shops opened.
 * Women were more equal to men, the boss's wife was sometimes more powerful then other family members
 * Didn't receive a salary, had to rely on daily trading.
 * Artisans working for daimyo and the shogun were allowed to wear two swords and could use a surname- they were allowed more signs of status than other social classes.
 * The sword-makers were an honored class because of the mystical significance attached to the swords. They approached the task with great solemnity, and before forging they underwent fasting and ritual purification. They wore white robes like priests while they worked.
 * The chonin of Edo were crammed into 20% of the city, and the artisans were organized by trade, like carpenters, sawyers and sword-makers lived in different parts of the city.
 * Craft- guilds were organized by the chonin to limit the number of artisans in any given trade, and so a master- follower relationship similar to the Samurai's appeared.
 * <span style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: middle;">Because they were considered parasites, because they didn't contribute anything to the economy like the samurai or farmers did.
 * <span style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: middle;">They charged money for the selling of goods that other people made, rather than making their own things
 * <span style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: middle;">They spent their money in the ukiyoe or Floating world, which was full of sumo wrestlers, geisha and Kabuki theater- Kabuki was more rough and un-traditional than Noh or Bunraku. It had plots that were different and strange, while Noh theater and the Tea ceremony clung to traditional beliefs.
 * <span style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: middle;">Their status grew because they started to exert power over the samurai using their money, while the samurai grew impoverished and poor.
 * <span style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: middle;">They exerted more and more influence over the cities as they controlled more and more money.