Monaghan_Tokugawa_Project

=Social Classes in Tokugawa Japan=

In [|Tokugawa]Japan groovy stuff happened. Social classes in Tokugawa Japan were assigned official status and prestige by the government, but actual practice differed. Merchanst and performers were considered the lowest class, but in reality, they had much prestige and power.

In the above image, by [|Hiroshige]from 1852, there are two coolies carrying a geisha along the Tokaido. The coolies had higher status officially, than the geisha, but in reality, the geisha was more prestigious than the cololies.

This image shows a restaurant in [|Edo], the capital of the [|Shogun]. It is from a series of prints by Hiroshige on famous restaurants in Edo.