Introduction
The purpose of this study is to draw a relationship between economic and social dimensions, on the one hand, and their effects on an individual in the modern Japanese society, on the other hand. The subject of the study focuses on Katsu Kokichi who was the third son of a low-ranking Samurai named Otani Heizo.
Otani lived from 1802 to 1850 and was adopted when he was seven years old by the Katsu family with the intention to marry their only daughter Nobuko. Otani lived on a monthly stipend of 100 koku. Kokichi had briefly attended school until he was expelled because he did not develop an interest in formal education. However, he was good at martial arts and riding. He married Nobuko and they got four children. By the time of getting married, Kokichi’s stipend had declined to only 41 kokus.
Background of the Samurai
The Samurai were considered the most senior class in the top hierarchy of the Japanese society. Two of their classes were eta and hinin. Eta means “filthy” and hinin means “non-human”. The hinin were people who were engaged in actions which were breaking the traditions of Buddhism.
Examples of these professions included tanners, butchers and undertakers. In 1871, these classes were abolished. The Samurai were mainly identified by the two swords which they carried regularly. An individual who was not a Samurai had to bow when having met a Samurai. If he failed to bow, the Samurai had the right to chop off the head of the person who was not equal in rank and status to him.
If a Samurai married a woman who was not of the Samurai clan, the woman was absorbed into the Samurai class and also became a member of the clan. The Samurai customs demanded every Samurai to be respectful and honest and uphold other ideals.
Social and economic dimensions
The Kobushin Samurai was a lower-ranking Samurai who earned a meager pay of 41koku. Life for the Kobushin Samurai was very difficult. It was this class that Mutsui belonged to. In order to supplement his income, he had to sell swords and lend money to people at exorbitant rates of interest. Mutsui would also be employed as a guard to protect the merchant shops. In order to survive, Kokichi abused his status as a Samurai.
For instance, he performed the secret samurai customs in public in order for him to be paid for the show. He revealed the secret traditions without feeling any remorse for his wrongdoing. Kokichi visited brothels, drank, gambled places and proudly informed his friends about the visits as though those were heroic deeds (Deal, 44). Kokichi also lied about his identity when he visited a part of the country which he was not allowed to visit (William, 63).
Kokichi hated studying, as shown in the following quotation, “I hated studying, and everyday slipped out through the fence and into the Sakura riding ground, where I spent hours riding. At most I learned to read five or six pages of the Greater Learning” (William, 19). Kokichi was involved in many fights ever since he was a child. He was proud of narrating his fighting experiences to his peers. He was once locked in a cage by his father as a disciplinary action.
His father hoped of reforming him. He encouraged him to read some books while at the cage (Ravina, 68). His transformation began while he was locked in that cage. Kokichi’s greatest change occurred when he heard a comment from one old man, as shown in the following quote, “People are wont to repay a good deed with ingratitude. Well, why don’t you be different and try returning a good deed for every act of ill will” (Turnbull, 73).
When his father retired, Kokichi’s step brother, Otani Hikoshiro, took over as head of their family, providing for the family’s needs. Kokichi’s lifestyle would not have allowed him to become the head of the family as he would not have afforded to maintain the family due to the lack of financial resources.
At the age of 15 years, Kokichi’s son, Rintaro, took over as the family head to care for the family. Kokichi took the name Musui, meaning “drunk on dreams”. It was surprising that Musui wrote his autobiography in a book entitled Musui dokigen which means Musui was talking to himself notwithstanding the fact that he was illiterate for most of his life (Friday , 12). Katsu’s story reveals the following about the urban life in late Tokugawa, Japan. When Tokugawa Leyasu took over the reins of power in Japan; he brought peace to the country.
This fact meant that the role of the Samurai, which was mainly fighting and protecting the country, was rendered obsolete. Due to the feudal system, the fighting Samurai emerged as a strong force in the Japanese society. The Shogun was the leader of the Samurai. In terms of rank, the Shogun was at the apex of the Samurai society. All the Samurai were to respect the Shogun and follow a set of rules laid down for them.
Travelling was made easier in late Tokugawa, Japan. Such a progress led to an increase in businesses, manufactures and trade. Roads became safe, as evidenced by the fact that Musui was not usually armed whenever he travelled on road. Document verification centers checking the papers of travelers were instituted along the roads. This measure led to improved security which made Japan more conducive for businesses to thrive.
The commoners had the finances to enjoy arts and engage in leisurely activities. However, the Kobushin Samurai experienced economic challenges. They were given little pay, which was not enough to sustain themselves and their families. They were not offered any official appointments.
This fact meant that they were in a dilemma as to what kind of activities they could have engaged in. In spite of the challenges experienced by the Samurai, there was economic growth in the country. The foreign policy at that time could not allow influx of Europeans. There were only a few Dutch who lived in a nearby island and were allowed to settle in Japan. The Kobushin Samurai suffered social challenge. Kokichi gave up his class and intermingled with the lower-class.
Due to increased military reforms, the Samurai’s activities of protecting the society through fighting enemies were not welcomed by the higher Japanese authorities. The Kobushin Samurai faced a serious social challenge. They could not live in a way befitting a Samurai since they had to mingle with the lower class people that offered them jobs and paid them money.
The social order was significantly affected. Although the prices of goods sold by the merchants continued to increase, the monthly stipend of the Samurai remained the same. This fact led to many members of the Samurai clan becoming heavily indebted to the merchants, thereby disrupting the social order.
In the rural areas, peasants were able to produce surplus food for sale due to improved technology. This improvement meant that they were able to support activities outside the peasant life. The debts caused increased resentment towards neighbors and an eventual uprising. Violence towards landlords and other elites was also experienced.
Conclusion
In spite of the challenges faced by the Kobushin Samurai, there were strict social orders during the Tokugama era. People enjoyed arts and culture. However, the issues experienced by the lower ranking Samurai helped undermine the political order of the Tokugawa era. Due to the new lifestyle of the Kobushin Samurai, the lower classes stopped respecting the higher classes. The lower classes of people did not like the way the higher classes spent their money.
This case is exemplified by Kokichi’s frequent visits to the brothels and his purchase of expensive swords. As a result of this, he accumulated huge debts. In order for him to settle his huge debts, he resorted to acts as stealing and lying. He blamed his debts on his peasants.
He even made them pay more money to the Samurai. However, since the peasants were unwilling to pay more to maintain the living of the Samurai, they realized that they needed to create a new government to rule Japan. The Samurai completely ignored the lower strata of society, peasants in particular. They were involved in corruption and other ills in the society. They were of loose morals contributing to moral decay of the society.
The Samurai lost popularity among members of lower classes. The merchants and artisans progressed to form a new class called the Chonin. These events led to an overthrow of the Tokugawa, as the head of the government. The Tokugawa was replaced with the Emperor who was seen to possess good morals.
The new government known as Meiji Restoration was seen to be beneficial to all the people in the Japanese society. The classes were abolished, and the Samurai lost their earnings since they became like everyone else. Most Samurai also lost their land ownership and had to become either peasants or go to the towns and earn from doing manual jobs.
The Japanese economy improved during the Tokugawa period. There was an increase in agricultural production, which included the growing of cash crops as well as subsistence crops. There was also a great progress in manufacture which led to the rise in the number of various businesses and shops and wealthy merchants as a result.
Subsequently, there was a significant growth of Japanese cities, which resulted in increase of urbanization and migration of people to cities like Osaka (Coleridge 23). The Samurai did not perform well as a merchant class. This fact was evidenced by an uprising by the peasant class during a time of famine.
The opposition of the Samurai led to another government which was equally weak. In 1867, the Shogunate Government was toppled down by the Choshu and Satsuma clans. In 1868 an “imperial restoration” was declared in the name of 14 year old Emperor Meiji. During the Meiji Period, the country was stable due to the peace in the country.
Such conditions contributed to creating a good environment for modernization. The feudal system was abolished and a new system involving policy making by a cabinet was formed. The Western Trade was allowed in the country which led to increased military strength of Japan.
Works Cited
Coleridge, Henry James. The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Deal, William, Handbook to life in medieval and early modern Japan. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
Friday, Karl. Samurai, Warfare and the State in early Medieval Japan, London, United Kingdom: Psychology Press, 2004. Print.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai — The Life and Battles of Saigō Takamori, New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Print.
Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai: a military history, London, United Kingdom: Psychology Press, 1996. Print.