Caste and Race in India c10.37

c10.37

In Japan during her military age—twelfth century to the middle of the nineteenth century A.D.—society was divided into five distinct groups. Hereditary soldiers, the Samurai, were the foremost of these. Farmers, artisans, and traders followed next in order. The fifth class was formed by two groups called the Eta and the Hinin, who were the Pariahs and outcasts of the community.³ Every occupation that brought a man into contact with unclean things, such as the corpses of human beings, the carcasses of animals, and offal of all descriptions, was degraded.⁴ Occupations that catered for the sensuous side of man as well as those that did not carry a fixed scale of remuneration were regarded as low.⁵ The degrading callings, and some others like stone-cutting and casting of metal, were relegated to the outcasts.⁶ After the Revolution a change was brought about in the social classification, and at the present day there are three classes established by law. These are the nobility, the gentry, and the common people, who include farmers, artisans, and merchants. The first two classes constitute only five per cent of the population, the rest being commoners. Every householder is required to nail up over his door a ticket with his name and class inscribed thereon.⁷