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short) as a clear badge of distinction and superiority, while the lower three classes were denied this privilege. The samurai, no matter how low their rank, wielded uncontested power and had the right to kirisude (to cut and leave): the right to put to death a disrespectful commoner on the spot. The samurai were expected to follow strict rules of dress, speech, manners and attitude towards their superiors. The samurai class, which constituted roughly seven per cent of the population, was largely concentrated in the city of Edo and the various daimyo castle towns. The samurai had an elevated social status, but were relatively poor with a limited rice stipend (kokudaka).
The shogun government and the feudal lords gave what they could, but over time inflation occured and the stipend no longer gave the samurai the means to maintain all appearances of respectability. As a result, many samurai supplemented their meagre income by becoming civil bureaucrats, administrators, writers, poets, teachers, artists, actors, firemen and law enforcers. With no warfare, limited duties and lots of free time, many samurai led monotonous lives in the city. [98]
During the Edo period, the famous chivalric cult of the warrior known as bushido was formalized and became an idealized code of behaviour, which focused on unquestioned loyalty to ones lord and a fierce defense of ones own status and honour. The code stressed the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faithfulness. The samurai always had to be prepared to face death and to meet it without a moment s hesitation. If dishonoured or defeated in battle, they were expected to die honourably by committing ritual suicide by disembowelment (.seppuku or hara-kiri). Because the Edo period was a relatively tranquil one, the samurai found themselves with little fighting to do. They were warriors without a war and without a cause. Even though firearms had become the decisive weapon of the time, they continued their fetish of wearing two swords, owning elaborate suits of armour and training in the medieval martial arts of swordsmanship, archery, spear fighting and horsemanship, as a form of character building. The code of bushido allowed the samurai order as a whole to largely preserve its integrity and prestige, but at the same time the samurai were so bound by social status and moral principles, they could not live a free life.
Peasant farmers, who made up the bulk of Edo Japans population (about 84 per cent at the start of Ieyasus reign), followed the samurai in the social system and were regarded as a productive class. Elowever, during the early Edo period they were badly exploited and found it hard to make ends meet, bearing immense burdens caused by the large rice stipends required by the samurai. During this era they became among the most advanced farmers in Asia with improved irrigation, better implements, fertilizer usage, expanded acreage, double cropping, better seeds, and they began
OPPOSITE
17 Hokusai Katsushika
(1760-1849]
Fuji from Fujimigahara in Bishu Province / Mont Fuji depuis Fujimigahara dans la province de Bishu Woodblock print
A craftsman is seen here making a huge circular tub using large metal hoops.
18 Yoshitaki Utagawa
(1841-99)
Famous Tea Merchant Shop / Magasins de the reputes Series: One Hundred Views of Osaka Woodblock print
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