P6+Artisans+and+Merchants

=P6 Artisans and Merchants= Christof K. & Taylor B.

The artisans and merchants were treated differently than others in Japanese society. In Japanese society, they were not thought of as of a high ranked people because of what they produced. The rankings were decided by how much they produced and honor. The lowest rank is those who produced the least, which were the merchants. The highest is the shogun, not because he produced a lot of things, but because he did a lot of things. Merchants weren’t respected much, if at all, because they produced nothing. This made people think of them as disgraceful. Artisans were treated with much more respect, even being given samurai privileges at times. Artisans produced things, yet they weren’t as valuable as other things, such as rice made by farmers. They also weren’t nearly as high as samurai in rank, because samurai were honorable soldiers. The artisans and merchants, despite their low rank, actually had some importance. The artisans had many crafts in which they worked in. There were many kinds of artisans, such as blacksmiths and others that supply the samurai with what they need. Some things that samurai needed were sharp and strong swords. There were sword smiths and sword sharpeners for that. Blacksmiths underwent fasting and ritual purification before making swords for samurai. This is because a sword takes some of the maker’s personal traits meaning that, if the maker were evil it would be an evil sword. Knowing that, the Japanese made it so only noble and honorable people could make swords. There were also sword-sharpeners, silver-smiths, scabbard-workers, lacquerers, shaft-makers, and cypress wood workers. Castles that artisans made were good for shelter and were very stable during war times, earthquakes, and other disasters. This was because the artisans built their buildings to be flexible and able to withstand tremors. The artisans were greatly respected because of all of this, yet their rank was lower compared to most. The artisan's rank was the second lowest rank, yet they made the second most amount of money. This was because, in comparison to the other ranks, they did not produce as great things as others. Rice was considered more valuable, and because of this, peasants were of higher rank than artisans. Above peasants, were samurai, and they were respected for their work. Daimyos ruled the samurai, therefore they must be higher. Above the daimyos was the shogun. Despite all of this, the artisans were still allowed some samurai privileges because they were of such great use to the samurai. In Japanese society, your wealth does not determine your social status, but what you produce. The artisans were not the only ones who made large amounts of money yet were of low rank socially. The merchants were, as well. The merchants had the lowest rank, yet made the most money, as shown in //The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn// where Seikei is riding in a kago instead of walking//.// Other people would normally walk, however due to the amount of money they had, they were able to afford a kago as transportation. Also shown in //The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn//, was how the daimyo ordered Seikei what to do, further showing the rank difference. This was due to them selling things that others made at high prices. Merchants woke up at 6 a.m. to start working for their money. They even had an equation for making their money: Early Rising - 10%; Devotion to Family Business - 40%; After Hour Work - 16%; Thrift - 20%; Good Health - 14%. Due to them making the most money, female merchants learned to read and write because they could go to school. If the boss wasn't around, but his wife was, the wife had the most authority. Merchants needed artisans because of what they made. The merchants traded and sold many things that the artisans made. Some of the things that merchants sold were weapons, gold, silvers, armors, wood, and more things that artisans gathered and made. Some merchants took these things overseas to places like China or Korea, places Japan has had close ties to. As shown in //The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn//, the rivers in Japan are shallow, making it hard to transport and trade. More than 180 merchants did this from 1604 CE - 1616 CE. Merchants and artisans shared another thing caused by rank, such as Kabuki Theater. As seen in //The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn//, there were specific things that decided how people had to act, such as how merchants went to Kabuki Theater and other places. Kabuki Theaters were meant for merchants and artisans, because there were places where artisans and merchants could and couldn’t go. Samurai and others did not condone such behavior and condemned it as degrading. Artisans did not condone with some of the ideas of the merchants, as well. Artisans preferred more artistic entertainment, while merchants preferred more lusty entertainment as found in kabuki and “ukioye” restaurants. “Ukioye” is the Japanese word for floating world. This does not include every merchant and artisan, however. Artisans became famous in ukioye, even though they didn’t partake in kabuki. Bakufu did not agree with ukioye at all, and disapproved those who did. Artisans and merchants were the lowest ranked members socially but over time their wealth became greater and greater. Artisans were higher than merchants in rank because they did produce goods. Although their goods were based off of daily life and other things that other people do. Merchants were despised and feared upon by the authorities because while they are rich, they are considered like vermin because they have nothing they make to help their society grow even more, in contrast to artisans. The samurai and the daimyos were considered some of the most honorable people, but they too started to notice the wealthy habits of merchants. Although they did not just witness it, they also got jealous and wanted it. But, the merchants were good for getting things somebody wanted or sending something to others. And artisans are very important because there are sawyers, roofers, craftsmen, sword smiths, sword sharpeners, construction men and many more. All of those things are needed every day. So while they may not, make anything totally their own, artisans and merchants are definitely needed.

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