ArtisansandMerchants6

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Artisans and Merchants in Ancient Japanese culture, they are a topic that is least discussed but is actually very interesting. Artisans and Merchants were often disrespected and treated badly, though they had a lot of money.

Merchants are said to do nothing to help the economy. In the beginning they were the lowest class of population though they had money, but as merchants gained more money they rose in class ranks and samurai impoverished. After the samurai impoverished, they had to start selling their status. As merchants flourished, the fabled samurai got poorer, which resulted in bad influence towards the daimyos. The reason they were considered parasites were because they got other people’s things and sold them to get money. The Japanese also thought of merchants as becoming rich by other people's toils. Merchants were people who sold things and tried to get a lot of money for it, often trying to get foreign things to sell.

Merchants sold all kinds of useful things such as tea, lanterns, paper and wood pieces of art. They sold things to all kinds of people from powerful samurai to peasants. They were involved in a lot of oversea trades and strived to get good things to sell. They are pretty wealthy because they can sell a lot of things, but many people still treat them with contempt. They bring a lot of new things to Japan because of their oversea trading, starting a little bit of cultural diffusion. Merchants sell a lot of things and shouldn’t be hated.

The merchants of Ancient Japan were very important to the economy even if they were disrespected by the general public. They sold many things that were needed and also things for decorative and ornamental purposes. For instance Ancient Japanese merchants sold things like tea, lanterns, wood, and paper. Merchants have done their job hundreds of years; they have been part of many different cultures. They have been differently respected in a lot of different cultures. In the Japanese culture they have been important but still disrespected, because they are considered to make a living of other people’s hard work.

There are all different types of artisans, including sword-smiths, carpenters, blacksmiths and sake-brewers. Sake is an alcoholic drink that the Japanese drink on holidays. The swords of the samurai were created by the sword-smiths. The swords had over 12 folds in it and was made by combining steels of different carbon-contents. Blacksmiths created all different types of every-day metal equipment. The carpenters spent over 1/3 of their day sharpening their equipment, and had over 150 tools, all not shown to anyone else.

The artisans of Ancient Japan were important to the economy because they made anything from samurai swords to colorful kimonos, from houses to paper lanterns. The artisans of Ancient Japan were useful and important, but they were still less respected by the general public than a peasant farmer. This was because their economic activity was considered too close to the economic activity of a merchants, though they were put one category above the merchants because they made things with their own hands. Like merchants there are artisans in all cultures, but they can do the same thing as artisans in other cultures, but tend to have a different style of doing it.

Artisans are the second lowest on the society status because their economic activities often overlapped with the merchants'. The artisans often sold their work for a price, almost identically to the merchant's, who also sold their paraphernalia for a price. The only reason artisans are higher in social status is because the made their wares, as opposed to merchants who became rich off other people's labor. Some of the artisans had people who worked for them to make the things that they sold; so it was sometimes tough to distinguish one from the other.

Merchants and artisans are indeed on the same class level, they are the lowest in society. They bring and make many things for Ancient Japan. They are one of the building blocks of Japanese society.

Citations: ** Charles J. Dunn, //Everyday Life in Traditional Japan//, Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969 **