Light Servant of a Samurai Family - Karukibuke Hokounin

…In the Middle Ages, the term “servant” was generally used to refer to a higher-ranking servant or vassal.
[Samurai servant]
Until the early modern period, servants included those of samurai rank, but in the Edo period, the term referred to low-ranking servants such as wakato (young attendants), ashigaru (foot soldiers), chugen (middle men), komono (servants), rokushaku (foot soldiers), zoritori (sandal bearers), and sometimes kachi (foot soldiers) employed by the shogun, daimyo, hatamoto (main retainers), gokenin (vassals of the shogunate), and daimyo's households. Their status in everyday life was that of farmers or townspeople, and they were only allowed to carry swords as part of their family business while employed by the samurai, and were treated as retainers of the samurai.

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "light samurai servants" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…奉公人という称呼は，中世では上位の従者，家臣をさすものとして用いられるのが一般的であった。御恩･奉公【佐藤 堅一】
【武家奉公人】
　近世初頭までは侍身分の者をも奉公人のうちに加えていたが，江戸時代では将軍や大名，旗本･御家人や大名の家中に雇用された若党（わかとう），足軽，中間（ちゆうげん），小者（こもの），六尺，草履取（ぞうりとり），ときに徒士（かち）などの軽輩をさし，軽き武家奉公人ともいう。その平生の身分は百姓，町人であり，武家奉公中のみ家業として帯刀が許され，奉公さきの家来の取扱いをうけた。…

※「軽き武家奉公人」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報