Edo society

Society during the Edo period (or Tokugawa period) in Japan was ruled by strict customs and regulations intended to promote stability. Confucian ideas provided the foundation for a system of strict social prescriptions. At the top of the social order, although below the Emperor, the shogun, daimyōs (lords), and the samurai were the ruling class. The peasants (heimin) lived in villages and produced agricultural goods. Increasing urbanization and rising consumerism created merchant and artisan classes in towns and cities. Social mobility during this period was highly limited. As wealth became concentrated outside of the samurai class, conflicts between class arose and the social order became increasingly challenged.

The Tokugawa government intentionally created a social order called the Four divisions of society (shinōkōshō), that would stabilize the country. This system was based on the ideas of Confucianism that spread to Japan from China. By this system, society was composed of samurai (侍 shi), farming peasants (農 nō), artisans (工 kō) and merchants (商 shō). Samurai were placed at the top of society because they started an order and set a high moral example for others to follow. The system was meant to reinforce their position of power in society by justifying their ruling status. Peasants came second because they produced the most important commodity, food. According to Confucian philosophy, society could not survive without agriculture. Third were artisans because they produced nonessential goods.

Merchants were at the bottom of the social order because they generated wealth without producing any goods. As this indicates, the classes were not arranged by wealth or capital but by what philosophers described as their moral purity.

In actuality, shinōkōshō does not accurately describe Tokugawa society. Buddhist and Shinto priests; or court nobles (kuge); and outcast classes including eta and hinin (those sold or sentenced into indentured servitude) were not included in this description of hierarchy. In some cases, a poor samurai could be little better off than a peasant and the lines between the classes could blur, especially between artisans and merchants in urban areas. Still, the theory provided grounds for restricting privileges and responsibilities to different classes and it gave a sense of order to society. In practice, solidified social relationships in general helped create the political stability that defined the Edo period.

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