Samurai fact of the week!
It's time for another weekly Samurai Fact!
This week's fact... The Class System.
In the era of feudal Japan, there was a hierarchy of importance for different kinds of citizens. To put a very abridged spin on it (because sometimes the hierarchy could be more complex than this), peasants and commoners were at or near the bottom tier of the hierarchy. The next tier above them were warriors and elites; such as Samurai and Ninja. The upper tier consisted of regional lords (daimyo) and the battle generals/warlords (shogunate). And at the very top, though he was often more of a figure head than actual ruler, was the Emperor.
In these times, it was easier to be promoted up the hierarchy. Going in reverse direction, or getting a demotion, was often shameful and frowned upon. Think of it like having a white-collar job one day, then homeless the next. In the earlier years, mostly the Edo period, it was a lot harder to go from one tier to the next. In fact, no commoners could become samurai themselves; you had to be born into a samurai family to become one. In later years however, like the Sengoku era, things were a bit more fluid. The Sengoku Era, best translated as the "Waring States" era, is when civil war in Japan was at its worst. So naturally, there was a higher demand for soldiers, thus the need to welcome more commoners into their ranks IF they pledged their loyalty.
- 2
10 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Join the herd!Sign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now