P1+Artisans+and+Merchants

=P1 Artisans and Merchants=

Merchants and Artisans **Natalie D** == Artisans and merchants were a big part of Japan. Their creations and skills were valued everywhere, and were helpful to many people. Artisans and merchants were different from many people, though. They lived in different houses, had different forms of entertainment, and had different life styles from everybody else in Japan. Their honor was questionable, too. This essay will go in depth about all of this and more. ==
 * Davis B **
 * World Cultures **
 * Period:1 **

=== Artisans were people who made goods for other people, and repaired broken things. They produced goods for the castle samurai, and there were many types of artisans. Some of the types of artisans that were in ancient Japan were sword smiths, armor smiths, carpenters, sawyers, roofers, coopers, and lumbers. More would be cutlers, stone-masons, sake- makers, silversmiths, lacquerers, shaft makers, dyers, plasterers, tobacco cutters, tillers, mat makers, and finally, cypress wood makers. Sawyers cut timber for carpenters, plasterers covered solid walls, and roofers used thatch shingles or tiles to make roofs. These are just some of the things that artisans did. Every artisan made, or collected goods for trade within and out of castle towns. This particular class was prosperous in feudal Japan, and supplied goods for samurai, especially in war times. Sword smiths were one of the most important artisans. They had a high artisan status because swords were necessary for samurai because samurai couldn’t fight without them. Other than make things, artisans repaired the things in the castletowns. Many of the artisans sold products at markets, and some were famous in the ukiyos (floating world) for their paintings or carvings. === Carpenters were artisans, and could make amazing things with their tools. Carpenters were a very important type of artisan, and used 150 tools, and spent 1/3 of their time during the day sharpening them. One thing that is amazing is that in the king's palace, the carpenters made the nightingale floors which are floors boards that when you step on them they start to creak, and this was a way of knowing if intruders were coming. The amazing thing about carpenters is that they could make joints hold together without using nails. When the carpenters were building they made sure that the framework was right, that the wood was prepared, and that the prepared wood was cut into the shapes that were necessary, and that the artisans working on building did their job. So, basically everything had to be almost perfect and efficient in their job or their creations would not turn out right. In Japan there was one job that all you would do is make money, and that job is being a merchant. Merchants were the wealthiest people in Japan but were low in the social structure because they sold things that other people made. But in the social structure there was a big difference between wealthy merchants and poor merchants. Also, some people like lower ranked samurai even considered being a merchant. The merchants in Japan were not allowed to be a samurai, who are scholar warriors who serves their master. In The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn, a boy named Seikei, a merchant’s son wants to be a samurai when he grows up but his father wants him to be a merchant and if he becomes one Seikei cannot be a samurai. Merchants were much unappreciated by other people and there were lots of them in japan but where barred from the rest of society. Merchants mainly benefited from the growth of the town around the daimyo castle which was the castle town. Merchants were put into the class of the chonin which was the townspeople. Then, there was the Tokugawa period which helped the merchant’s trade because there was no war, crime, or poor roads. But when the economy switched from feudal to commercial, merchants gained higher social status during the Tokugawa period. Artisans and merchants were 3 % of japans population. Many of this 3% lived in places called nagayas, though. Most artisans and merchants lived in houses called nagayas. As mentioned before, artisans and merchants were 3% of a castletown’s population, and 70% of the artisans and merchants lived in nagayas. Nagayas were built in rows, and were about 9.8 cubic meters big. Wells, restrooms, and dumps were common in nagayas. Between the rows of nagayas were lanes, and in the middle of these lanes were ditches. In the lanes, merchants sold their goods, children played, and women talked. Nagayas were part of a much larger group of buildings, though. Many people lived in castletowns, as well as merchants, and artisans. Nagayas were built inside of the castletowns. Castletowns started being built around the Muromachi period, and they had very advanced forms of defense. Some forms of castletowns’ defenses were the many dead ends, and many confusing roads that trapped enemies. The four main things that helped defend the castle were the castle tower, the guard tower, walls and moats, and gates. As the assistants (vassals) moved toward the castle, so did merchants, artisans, and peasant farmers. Some merchants even got the privilege of living as near the castle as the samurai did, while some artisans even moved into daimyo castles. Castletowns had many different kinds of buildings, such as houses, the castle, stands that merchants sold their goods at, and different buildings for entertainment. Artisans and merchants had separate forms of entertainment than most other people. According to Japanese mythology, the theater was founded by the gods. Some forms of entertainment merchants had were the Kabuki Theater, wrestling, and gambling. Samurai were not allowed to attend the plays, though. The Kabuki Theater was first developed in the 1600s. At the theater they made speeches, sang, and fought duels. Kabuki Theater plays were meant for merchants and other townspeople. Attempts were made to try and ban the Kabuki Theater, for good. Women were not allowed to act and actors in the theater wore heavy makeup, and wigs. There is the oldest form of entertainment called the Noh Theater. Noh Theater mainly bases their most famous plays on legends and folktales. Actors that acted in Noh Theater plays usually changed masks to show different emotions throughout the play. Hopefully this essay shows that what you do for a living really can change your daily life style. media type="custom" key="8452330"

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