P2+Artisans+and+Merchants

=P2 Artisans and Merchants= There are many different types of Artisans. In the town of Tsumaya, in the year A.D 1655, that amount was recorded. There were 222 carpenters, who made things out of wood. The 37 Sawyers, who lived in Tsumaya, cut the wood for the carpenters. The 6 plasterers plastered the walls of buildings. There were also many other cooper, shinglers, thatcher’s, paper makers, tobacco cutters, tillers, and mat makers. Most of these Artisans worked on building the castles for the Samurai shogun and Daimyo’s. There were other Artisans who made goods for the samurai too. Tsumaya had 3 blacksmiths. Their main job was samurai sword making. To sharpen the swords, there were 8 sword sharpeners. But, samurai didn’t just need swords. The needed arrows too. That was when the 2 shaft- makers went to work. They didn’t just make arrows though; they also made halberds and flags. There was also one worker in cypress wood and 2 lacquerers. All these artisans interacted with the samurai by making things for them.

Making these things was not easy though. It took time and skill. To make just one sword it could take months, and if you did just one thing wrong you’ve wasted all that time. The swords the Artisans make for the samurai are designed to slice swiftly and precisely. The Sword smith’s personality comes out in the blade that he has created. If there was an evil sword maker, he would make an evil blade. That means the Sword smiths, who made swords for the Samurai, could only be the people with best moral values. The sword smiths created and resilient blade by combining steels of different hardiness's. The hardness of the steels that the sword smith used depended on its carbon content. The two kinds of steel, which are used, are combined. That creates a sword with a soft core and a hard edge to have a razor sharp cutting surface. The blade has a characteristic curved shape because it is hardened by dipping the red hot blade in cold water, after it is pulled out of the fire. A samurai’s sword weighs less than 3 pounds. The samurai is good with his swords, but he will not be very good without his armor.

A Samurai’s armor is made from pieces of leather, iron, bamboo, and silk. Their Armor is designed to be flexible enough to be worn even in unarmed combat. To make one suit of samurai armor it took one year. Every rawhide plate in their armor overlaps with the next to make flexible panels which are then sewn into the suit for the Samurai. It was designed not just for protection, but also to show strength and power to enemies and friends. That is why the armor is usually colorful, and why there are huge headdresses. Those headdresses do show that you are powerful and which social class you are in.

Almost all Artisans worked with merchants at one time in their career. They make goods and then sell them to the merchants who then sell them to customers. Artisans are pretty low in the social classes. That is because they don’t make things people can eat. The major food source in japan is rice. That is what you eat and how you pay your taxes. If you do not make something you can eat or pay with, you are not making something super worthwhile. Artisans did make other things; just nothing you can use to eat or use to pay with. A merchant’s life was sometimes very easy, but sometimes very hard. Merchants were barred from society they had different forms of entertainment such as wrestling, gambling, and kabuki theatre. Sometimes a merchant would make a big display of his wealth and the shogun would confiscate everything he had. The site of a main daimyo castle usually became a lively populous town since merchants and artisans as well as the daimyo's samurai congregated there. Merchants were not allowed to be samurai, and were barred from the rest of society. Merchants in cities were in a great position to become wealthy even though they were at the bottom of the social classes. In cities many people were in trade and manufacturing goods such as swords armor textiles ceramics, and lacquer works. Artisans and Merchants ranged from very poor to very rich and wealth. Merchants did many traveling business and sold many different things. Merchants did not make a salary so they had to make good money when selling and trading. Japanese exports consisted mainly of gold from Oshu, silver from Tsushima, pearls, sulphur, mercury, wood that was pine and cedar, and objects of artistic value and weapons. Merchants also sold paper and tea. Traders who went over sea had special permits during the years from 1604 to 1616.

Merchants are at the bottom of the social class because they do not produce anything. They sell things, but do not make the products they sell. Merchants were part of the class of townspeople. According to ruling powers, the highest ranking people would live closest to the castle and the area around it. Usually, this included the samurai, but there were also rich merchants who obtained the privilege to live in these close quarters instead of the area near the outline of the castle grounds.

media type="custom" key="8452990"

An original japanese samurai”. []. [2/21/11]. Image. Bryant, J. Anthony. "The Samurai." London. Osprey Publishing.1989.print.

“Discounts on a wooden woman bags stall in a Japanese market.” []. [2/21/11]. Image.

“Hands of a potter, creating an earthen jar on the circle.” []. [2/11/21]. Image.

 “Historic samurai armor on black.” [] . [2/21/11]. Image. Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. "The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn." New York. Puffin Books, 1999. Book. "Matsumoto Castle, Japan." http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-41817010/stock-photo-matsumoto-castle-japan.html. [2/18/11].Image. Odijk, Pemla. "The Japanese." Morriston, NJ: Silver Burdett Press, 1991. “Row of Asian palatial Residences.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. [2/21/11]. Image. Sellen Jeff. "Tokugawa Japan." Japanese Neo-Confucianism. Richard Hooker, 1996.web. [2/17/11].  "Traditional art and craftsmanship." http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-1332087/stock-photo-traditional-art-and-craftmanship.html. [2/18/11]. Image. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“ Traditional Japanese house in Nara, Japan. “ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. [2/21/11]. Image. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Vector thank you note.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. [2/21/11]. Image.