The True Face Of Life In Feudal Japan For Peasant And Shogun Alike
Since Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world as much as possible for hundreds of years, the island nation has developed a unique culture with an incredibly rich historical tradition. Indeed, some of those traditions stretch back hundreds of years and call back to either the Edo Period or the imperial dynasty that held power before and after this time.
Despite the prevalent respect for tradition in Japanese society, it's also true that life in Tokyo nowadays is vastly different than life in Edo (Tokyo's previous name) would have been under a shogunate.
Actors were part of the lowest social class
In most of the world nowadays, some actors are respected to the point of being some of the most prominent members of society. In ancient Japan, however, this was far less true. According to the National Library of Australia, acting and other forms of paid entertainment were performed by Hinin, a social class so low that it translates to "non-people."
Although it was possible to escape the rank of Hinin, this class was subject to severe enough discrimination to make that a rarer achievement. Other jobs that were considered too unseemly for non-Hinin were butchery, tanning, collecting fertilizer, and undertaking.
Ronin often turned to crime
![Act eleven [of the Chushingura].](https://www.exploredhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/act-eleven-of-the-chushingura-10606.jpeg?b=0&c=0&width=480&height=720&top=0&left=457&zoom=0.780911062907 "Act eleven [of the Chushingura].")
If the lord that a samurai swore allegiance to died or lost their status, that samurai faced life as a ronin. According to the National Library of Australia, that meant they were consigned to a life of wandering and looking for work.
At best, these ronin could find work as mercenaries or as bodyguards for wealthy merchants. Failing that, however, they either started protection rackets and illicit gaming rings or worked as enforcers for those who did. To say the ronin often had limited options would be an understatement.
90% of people were peasants
Although much ado is made about the samurai class when people look back to feudal Japan, most people at the time were not in a position to achieve such a rank. According to the National Library of Australia, most people were either farmers, artisans, or merchants.
The farmers were the most socially valued within the peasant class, as the rice, fish, and vegetables they provided were essential to the nation's survival. Artisans were second in esteem, as they produced the tools and weapons of war that were needed for navigating everyday life.
Merchants were hated but needed all the same
According to the National Library of Australia, the merchant class was as low a social position as one could find oneself in ancient Japanese society without being a Hinin. This was because they were seen as profiting from the work of others without creating anything themselves.
However, their necessity in Japanese society led to a grudging respect for merchants by the 14th Century. At that point, markets were considered the lifeblood of communities, and local authorities appreciated the reliable tax revenues that merchants provided.
Death loomed over Japan constantly for 500 years
As William Wayne Farris wrote in Daily Life And Demographics In Ancient Japan, Japan's population of six million remained largely stagnant between 700 CE and 1150 CE. This wasn't due to a lack of births but rather the fact that diseases, wars, famines, and droughts all had the effect of keeping the population down.
This made the ancient age a terrible time in Japan's history, but life began to improve during the medieval epoch that lasted between 1150 CE and 1600 CE.
Shugo were governors, warlords, and artists all at once
According to the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Kamakura Period, starting in 1185 CE, saw a shift in power from Japan's imperial court to its warrior class, led by the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. Yoritomo placed a military governor called a shugo in each province to collect taxes, arrange for the province's military defense and control, and provide general administration.
Although the shugo could be brutal in military terms, they understood that their administrations were not legitimate if they didn't pay appropriate respect to Japan's cultural richness. So, while they may have written military and legal documents by day, they filled their leisure hours by practicing calligraphy, writing poetry, and studying Buddhism.
Women were trained as samurai but didn't go to war
According to PBS, samurai trained both physically and mentally for their prestigious responsibilities from a young age, and it wasn't unusual for girls to receive martial arts training as well. At least in terms of training, female samurai were not unheard of in feudal Japan.
However, it was unheard of to see female samurai on the battlefield at the time. Instead, they were trained to prepare them to defend their homes from potential invaders. Considering that the Mongols attempted to invade Japan twice, this wasn't an unfounded precaution.
Samurai were commanders as much as warriors
According to the National Library of Australia, war worked in feudal Japan as it did throughout other parts of the war during medieval times. Most soldiers were sourced from the peasant class, but samurai were elite soldiers who were supposed to be as adept at military tactics as their own martial prowess.
Although they were an influential class in Japanese society, they also deferred to their local warlords, who were wealthy landowners called daimyo. Their daimyo would pay them but sometimes go as far as to set aside land for their samurai to farm.
Foreign texts were restricted in Japan until the 18th Century
Although Japan was understood to be an isolationist nation before the 19th Century, it's easy to forget that political leaders throughout most of Japanese history were as suspicious of foreign ideas as they were of foreign people. According to the Asian Art Museum, this meant that texts from China and the Western world were subject to strict importation limits until the 1700s.
These restrictions were finally lifted by Shogun Yoshimune, and after this, Japan's scholars were able to broaden their knowledge with the rest of the world's information. Moreover, artistic styles flourished during this Edo period, as artists had a larger pool of influences from which to draw.
Zen Buddhist monks were influential spiritual leaders
Although the University of Colorado at Boulder noted that Buddhism — specifically Pure Land Buddhism, which promised salvation for all — became popular throughout Japan by the 14th Century, this came after Zen Buddhist monks had influenced the nation's powerful warrior class for many years.
Because life and the strength of the allegiances that immediately affected their lives were so uncertain, samurai, shugo, and others within the warrior elite turned to the teachings of Zen Buddhists for comfort and spiritual guidance. After these monks became their advisors and friends for long enough, their values influenced the cultural traditions of later leaders.
Only farmers had to pay taxes, and they didn't pay in money
According to the Asian Art Museum, farmers were the only citizens in Japan who had to pay taxes. Considering that these payments were made in rice, it should be clear how much of a consistent problem food scarcity was throughout much of Japan's feudal history.
These taxes and other costs of living often drove farmers towards other pursuits — so much so that shoguns sometimes tried to force them back to the fields — and led them to become artisans, merchants, or laborers. When natural disasters caused famines, the pressure mounted on farmers intensely enough to spark riots.
Travelers were always warned about supernatural threats
Although there was no shortage of things to worry about in feudal Japan, an 1810 guidebook obtained by the Smithsonian Magazine illustrated how deeply frightening the unfamiliar was to people at the time. Just 50 years before the feudal era would officially end in 1860, travelers were warned not to approach solitary strangers walking on trails.
That wasn't because they suspected they were dangerous people, as similar warnings nowadays might suggest. Instead, men wandering alone were suspected of being either ghosts or magical animals who took human form. Beautiful women wandering alone were considered even more dangerous, as they were suspected of being white foxes mischievous enough to lure humans to their doom.
Sumo wrestling wasn't just an entertaining sport in Japan
According to the Australian National University, sumo wrestling dates back to at least 719, and while wrestling events like the one depicted here were entertaining to crowds, they were also supposed to be demonstrations of serious military strength.
Indeed, the waning of government coffers by the 10th Century led to the phasing out of these lavish demonstrations, which also decreased the public's interest in sumo. However, this period instead saw sumo wrestling incorporated into formal, standardized military training. It made sense in a time when wars were fought with individual warriors.
The further Japan progressed, the poorer samurai were
As PBS explained, Japan was reunified after a long period of civil war in the early 17th Century. Yet, while the period that followed was peaceful and prosperous for more people than ever, it left the samurai of the warrior class with fewer ways to support themselves.
Not only did the peace mean they engaged in more bureaucracy than swordplay, but they found themselves becoming more economically disadvantaged as the townspeople around them found greater access to new wealth. Unlike these neighbors, samurai weren't allowed to engage in commerce. Paradoxically, the more peaceful Japan was, the more desperate their situation became.
Japan took its isolation seriously to a deadly degree
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the relaxation of various social norms that characterized the Edo period didn't transform every aspect of Japanese society. Although foreign texts were easier to get, sailors and missionaries from other nations weren't allowed any further than the port of Nagasaki.
While this may not be surprising to hear, it's worth noting that Japan's isolation went the other way as well. Not only were outsiders not allowed to enter its cities, but Japanese citizens weren't allowed to leave the nation. If they tried, they risked execution.
In ancient Japan, famines happened every three years
Although this was mostly true before the year 1150, William Wayne Farris wrote in Daily Life And Demographics In Ancient Japan that citizens could generally expect to experience a disastrous famine every three years. Naturally, this left the population constantly malnourished.
In turn, that meant citizens often didn't have the strength to fight smallpox, measles, mumps, and dysentery outbreaks that were also common at the time. These famines were partially the result of ecological degradation in central Japan, which made droughts common and compelled many farmers to abandon their fields.
Daily life was as uncomfortable as it got in ancient Japan
Even when all of the various risks of death are taken out of the equation of life in Japan before 1150, it would be hard to find a pleasant aspect of day-to-day existence. Most of the food was barely adequate at the best of times, and people lived in unsanitary conditions, but even smaller issues than that could get maddening.
As William Wayne Farris wrote in Daily Life And Demographics In Ancient Japan, the average family wore clothing made from itchy hemp and lived in cold, drafty homes. As if they didn't have enough problems, those homes were also prone to catching on fire.
The peasant class wasn't allowed to show wealth
Although much of the peasant class worked hard to keep up with their daily needs and the state's taxes, more of them flourished — especially by the Edo period — than people might expect. However, Japanese laws at the time prevented them from showing off their wealth with fancy clothes and ostentatious decorations in their houses.
Nonetheless, the Asian Art Museum explained that many found ways to subvert these laws subtly. Whether they lined their simple kimonos with expensive silks or built façades that made their two-story houses look like one-story houses, they annoyed the government enough to inspire crackdowns.
Some artisans achieved celebrity status through their work
Those who play many Japanese video games may find that a sword with the best stats in the game is usually called "Masamune." As the National Library of Australia explained, this convention speaks to how legendary artisans in feudal Japan could be even centuries after their deaths.
Artisans and other skilled craftspeople were respected within the peasant class, but some were considered skilled enough to be famous throughout the nation. This was particularly likely if they were known as master swordsmiths (like Gorō Nyūdō Masamune) or creators of beautiful pottery.
Travel within Japan was heavily restricted through odd rules
In classic Japanese art like this, the only figures typically depicted riding horses are samurai. According to Smithsonian Magazine, that was because they were the only ones — even within the warrior class — who were legally permitted to travel on horseback.
Moreover, wheeled transport was banned for just about everyone in feudal Japan. So when "highways" were established during the Edo period, they were designed for foot traffic. Travelers also had to follow strict itineraries when they used them and were issued wooden passports for the security checkpoints they'd encounter.
Archers intimidated other warriors with massive bows
As Japan's medieval period loomed (starting around 1185), samurai understood the value of mounted archery in combat. However, they weren't considered truly impressive warriors unless they could use bows that were larger and heavier than their enemies.
According to the University of Colorado at Boulder, the specific measurement often used to determine a samurai's strength was the number of men it took to string their bows. For instance, if someone was strong enough to use a bow that took seven men to string, they were a warrior who inspired legends.
Even the benefits of life in ancient Japan had hardships
If there was one perk that William Wayne Farris identified in Daily Life And Demographics In Ancient Japan about life in the island nation before 1150, it was that labor shortages meant that workers would be paid much more than usual.
This was also a time when women had more social and economic power than usual, if for similar reasons as American women during World War II. Unfortunately, it's unclear how many avenues there would have been to spend that money, as many traders shifted towards the barter system during this tumultuous time.
Ikebana arose as a result on Buddhism coming to Japan
"Ikebana" refers to the ancient Japanese art of floral arrangement and according to Japan's National Tourism Organization, it first arose with the arrival of Buddhism in the Sixth Century. This was because Buddhist altars typically featured flower offerings and the monks became more creative about how they arranged these flowers over time.
The rise of Ikebana also signaled a shift away from the Spartan-like society that characterized ancient Japan, as the upper classes who once hid away in purely functional fortresses learned the art to decorate their villas. By the 19th Century, Ikebana had expanded beyond the warrior class and became popular among the peasant class, especially among women.
Japanese cuisine was all but defined during the Edo period
It's often said that one of the biggest changes seen during the Edo period was that many more Japanese citizens could afford to eat three meals a day instead of two. As the manufacturer Kikkoman explained, however, it wasn't until this period that Japan really celebrated its cuisine.
Although they're both taken for granted throughout the world now, this period is when restaurants and cookbooks began to proliferate in Japan. The latter used to be akin to technical manuals, but the ones released in the Edo period were more pleasurable for the average person to read, much like they tend to be in modern times.
Fights to the death often started with a résumé
Although honor is generally understood to be important in combat in feudal Japan, what that effectively means is that combat wasn't honorable unless it was between people of relatively equal rank and skill. As a result, the University of Colorado at Boulder explained that samurai often made grand announcements about their identities to each other before any fighting started.
This obviously involved stating their names, as well as their ages, ranks, family lineages, and both their accomplishments and those of their ancestors. All of this was important because if a high-ranking warrior killed a disproportionately lower one, they didn't receive any monetary reward for it. Naturally, nobody would honor them for it, either.
The military class's most prized possessions were tea sets
By the late 16th Century, the widespread adherence to Zen Buddhism within feudal Japan enshrined and standardized tea ceremonies as a key part of Japanese life. According to the University of Colorado at Boulder, the mats and wood and paper screens that people commonly associate with Japanese homes were specifically intended to house these tea ceremonies.
These ceremonies were supposed to embody the Buddhist principles of harmony, purity, tranquility, and respect and take place under rustic conditions. However, this didn't stop the warrior class from using golden implements to enjoy their tea. For both samurai and their daimyo, tea accessories and teahouses were considered some of their most prized possessions.
Domestic chores in feudal Japan could get oddly gruesome
Although women in feudal Japan commanded more respect during times of strife and war than women in many other ancient civilizations, that doesn't mean they weren't also expected to be homemakers and child-rearers. This was partially for practical reasons, as some periods saw their husbands constantly away at war.
However, PBS explained that they were further "encouraged" to embrace this domestic role in times of stability and peace. Still, such times at least prevented the most grisly domestic chore a woman in medieval Japan would be expected to undertake. They were expected to wash the severed heads of their husbands' enemies so they could be presented to their military leaders.
No leader's power was fully secure before reunification
When the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan, he effectively ended centuries of civil war and brought about 250 years of peace before modern Japan, as it's known today, was born. Prior to that, however, the status that everyone above that peasant class enjoyed was more fragile than it may have seemed.
Although samurai relied on the support of their daimyo to avoid the fate of the wandering ronin, it wasn't unusual in those times of civil unrest for those daimyo to either die or fall out of favor. Moreover, those daimyo were supposed to defer to the shogun, but the legitimacy of the shogunate relied on the collective favor of those daimyo as well. As for the emperor, he was much like the emperor of today in that his role was mostly ceremonial.
Women's clothes changed according to marital status
According to PBS, unmarried women were expected to wear long-sleeve kimonos called furisode, while married women in feudal Japan wore shorter sleeves and blackened their teeth to make themselves easier to identify. Silk kimonos were only permitted among female samurai.
Although medieval Japanese women are often associated with rounded, elaborate hairstyles like the ones shown here, those only started to come into vogue during the Edo period. Before then, women typically wore their hair long and straight without much styling.
Samurai found their status as confining as it was beneficial
Most celebrities nowadays will say that the wealth and prestige that their status affords them comes at the cost of their privacy and adds the pressure of intense social expectations on their every move. According to the Asian Art Museum, the same was true of samurai in feudal Japan.
Even as late as the Edo period, the samurai struggled to live up to the high moral standards that both their lords and society at large held them to. Although many of them enjoyed Kabuki theaters and red-light districts as much as the peasant class did, these standards compelled them to experience these pleasures in disguise.