P6+Artisans+and+Merchants

by Jeonghun L. and Niara W.
 * //Artisans and Merchants: Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Rich//**

//Introduction

Artisans and merchants were an important part on Japan culture. Artisans made products and construct while merchants sell the products. Artisans were treated nicely by other people. Artisans were the people that built the castles and building along with other things, such as works of art or everyday uses such as paper and brushes. Merchants were people who sold goods to other people. Merchants were more to the negative side. Even though they did sell goods to other people, they were treated with negative thoughts and were not like by the other people around the area. Even though merchants are hated by other people, merchants and artisans had an important role in Japanese culture.

How the two jobs are connected

Artisans and merchants have connections that make them close in social class. Both positions of artisans and merchants make an income by selling goods. Artisans sold goods that they had made to the samurai as they were needed. The merchants sold goods that the artisans had made for a profit. Both artisans and merchants lived in the same part of town called the Nagaya. The Nagaya was an independent area that was isolated from the rest of Japanese society. Artisans' and merchants' economic activities overlapped because they were both selling goods to make a profit.

How other people feel about them

Artisans and merchants are viewed differently in Japanese society. Merchants were considered parasites to other Japanese people because they lived off of other people. The merchants lived off of other people by using their products and made lots of money off of the goods. Merchants were also viewed as bad people because it seemed that they took advantage of others to make money. Artisans were treated much better than the merchants because they were of such high necessity to the samurai. Artisans were viewed positively in early modern Japan because they were considered to contribute well to society. The reason for this being that the artisans built the foundations of cities. As well as produced the goods needed for a well functioning society to thrive.

How they made money

Artisans and merchants received money in similar ways. The artisans in the Tokugawa Shogunate created products to be used for construction, battle and clothing. They then sold the fruits of their labor to consumers or to merchants where they would be sold for a profit. Artisans and merchant's jobs were connected because they had to work together to get products sold. Artisans generally received their money by selling their products to merchants so that they would be sold commercially.

Where they live and their part in social classes

Artisans and merchants lived in similar places and were close to each other in the social class. Artisans and merchants lived in similar places and were close to each other in social class. Seventy percent of the Japanese artisans lived in a type of house called a nagaya. Nagayas were rows of houses that were only 9.8 cubic meters. In contrast to the artisans, the richer merchants were eligible to live in the neighborhood of people with higher ranks in society. These areas were much in demand and were near the castle grounds. In the nagaya were lanes that acting as a gathering place of the nagayas inhabitants. People could often be seen playing, chatting or selling goods. Both merchants and artisans were part of the lowest social class. The reason for this was that the artisans didn’t make very much money and the merchants were looked down upon. Merchants were considered bad people and were sent to live away from others.

Artisans had many different jobs

Artisans had many different jobs. Some of the several types of artisans are Swordsmiths, armorsmiths, carpenters, sawyers, roofers and paper makers. Some of the types of jobs they would do are sake-brewing, stonemasonry and lacquering. Sake was a Japanese wine made out of rice. Lacquering is the varnishing, covering or glazing of wood to make it smooth. Carpenters were the most important artisans since they built architectural materials and castles. Carpenters spent one third of their day sharpening their tools as a ritual meditation. The skill of artisans in the Tokugawa shogunate was so great that they could build structures out of wood with such precision that they didn't need nails to hold wooden beams together.

Conclusion

Artisans and merchants were an essential part of Japanese culture for many different reasons. Without artisans the Japanese culture would've been virtually nonexistent. Without artisans there would be no castles, swords, sculptures or any of the items that make Japan stand out to the rest of the world. Samurai would not be able to fight since there would be no arrows, bows and swords. Goods would be nearly impossible to come by since there would be no merchants to sell any goods. People would not be able to read or write because there would be nobody to make the paper and brushes. The people wouldn’t be able to buy goods from markets and nagayas because there wouldn't be anyone to make them. That is why artisans and merchants are essential to Japanese culture.//

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