AUTHOR'S NOTE
Society
A lot of the things we think of when we think of pre-modern Japan are not part of Hiroki’s world. For example, there is no sushi here. And though the two meals of the day are called “morning rice” and “evening rice”, rice did not in fact feature much in the meals of all but the leading one percent of people. Boiled millet was much more likely, or noodles made of buckwheat or wheat flour. Hiroki and his companions are perhaps more fortunate than most in being able to eat the occasional piece of fresh or preserved fish. (But note that though most warriors were Buddhist they were not above hunting and consuming game.)
There is no kabuki theater in this Japan; there are no geisha and no pleasure districts like the famous Yoshiwara (though there are plenty of courtesans and prostitutes). There were no firearms, no tobacco: these didn’t begin to appear in Japan until about twenty years after this story is set. There is no Tokyo (just a collection of fishing villages called Edo).
The rigid stratification of society into four classes (samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants) is not a feature of this period either; in fact, there was a great deal of social mobility at this time. Hiroki’s journey from the nobility to the warrior caste is unusual but not unheard of; much more common was progress in the other direction. Many warriors began life as peasants, and one of them—Hideyoshi—went on to become the man who finally unified the country (and earned noble rank and the title of Imperial Regent as well).
Tomorrow: Religion
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Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
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