Shoguns Organize Japanese Society
Examine how Japanese shoguns organized society into a strict hierarchy of farmers, artisans, and merchants below the warrior ruling class in Grade 7 history.
Key Concepts
Under the shoguns, Japanese society was organized into a strict hierarchy. Below the ruling warrior class were farmers, artisans, and merchants, whose lives were defined by their occupations.
Farmers were highly respected because they grew the rice that fed the nation. Next were artisans , who crafted items like swords and tools. At the bottom of the social ladder were merchants , as they did not produce their own goods but only traded them.
Common Questions
How was Japanese society organized under the shoguns?
Shogunal Japan operated on a strict social hierarchy. The ruling warrior class—samurai and daimyo—sat at the top. Below them, farmers were respected for feeding the nation. Artisans who crafted tools and weapons ranked next. At the bottom were merchants, who merely traded goods others produced, considered less honorable than those who created.
Why were farmers ranked above merchants in Japanese feudal society?
Japanese social philosophy, influenced by Confucianism, valued productive labor over commerce. Farmers literally fed society by growing rice, the foundation of the economy and culture. Merchants, by contrast, merely profited from trading what others made without directly contributing to production—this was considered less socially valuable despite merchants often becoming wealthier than farmers.
What role did merchants play in Japanese shogunal society despite their low rank?
Though officially at the bottom of the social hierarchy, merchants played essential economic roles connecting producers and consumers across Japan's growing market economy. As the Edo period progressed, wealthy merchants accumulated significant economic power. Their financial importance gradually eroded the rigid social hierarchy, contributing to later social changes.