Samurai - Shizoku

A title given to former samurai by the new government after the Meiji Restoration. In 1869 (Meiji 2), with the return of the domains and people to the Emperor, the old social order consisting of the four classes (samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants) began to be reorganized. Former nobles and feudal lords became aristocrats, while former shogunate vassals, feudal lords, priests, temple retainers and other household servants became samurai. The following year, foot soldiers and others who were lower in the samurai class were made into sotsuzoku, but there was opposition, so in 1872, those who were hereditary were classified as samurai and those who had only been there for one generation were classified as commoners, the title sotsuzoku was abolished, and the samurai status was established. In 1873, there were just under 410,000 households and a population of just over 1.89 million. The samurai were ranked above commoners, second only to the nobility, and for the time being were allowed feudal privileges such as family stipends and carrying swords, which satisfied their feelings towards commoners. Some played leadership roles in government, academia, and the military, and some even entered the fields of commerce and industry, but after conscription, the sword ban, and the disposal of stipends, many lost their political and social status and fell into ruin. Among the samurai who lost their means of livelihood, those who became craftsmen, teachers, police officers, or private school owners were the more successful, but many started businesses following the "samurai business code" and failed. Some impoverished samurai lived in slums, became day laborers or beggars, and there were even cases of robbery and suicide. The new government implemented a policy of granting government bonds and loaning funds to the unemployed samurai to find employment, but was unable to provide relief to them. As a result, the discontent of the fallen and disgruntled samurai grew, and some of them participated in the samurai rebellions that led to the Seinan War, and some even played an active role in the early Freedom and People's Rights Movement that began in the 1870s. In 1947 (Showa 22), the samurai were abolished along with other social status designations due to the revision of the Family Registration Law.

[Hiromi Ishizuka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治維新後、新政府が旧武士に与えた身分呼称。1869年（明治2）版籍奉還とともに、旧来の四民（士農工商）からなる身分秩序の整理が開始された。旧公卿(くぎょう)と諸大名の藩主が華族に、旧幕臣、諸藩藩士、神官、寺院などの家士たちが士族に処せられた。翌年、士族の下層であった足軽(あしがる)などを卒族としたが、反対運動があったため、72年に彼らのなかで世襲の者を士族に、一代限りの者を平民に分属させて、卒族の呼称を廃止して、士族身分を確定した。73年当時、その数約41万戸弱、人口約189万人強であった。士族の身分は華族に次いで、平民の上に位置づけられ、また当面、家禄(かろく)や帯刀などの封建的特権が許されたこととも相まって、平民に対する彼らの感情を満足させた。一部には、政官界・学界・軍部などで指導者としての役割を果たし、また商工業の分野に進出した例もあったが、徴兵令、廃刀令、秩禄(ちつろく)処分などを経て、その政治・社会的地位は失われ、没落した者が多かった。生計の手段を失った士族のなかで、職人、教員、邏卒(らそつ)になったり、塾経営者に転身した者などはまだ成功したほうで、「士族の商法」に従って商売を始め失敗した場合も多かった。困窮士族のなかには、貧民街に住み日雇い人夫や乞食(こじき)になったり、強盗や自殺者までも出した例がある。新政府は、金禄公債を与え、資金を貸し付けて失業士族の授産政策を進めたが、彼らを救済することはできなかった。その結果、没落不平士族の不満は蓄積され、西南戦争に至る士族反乱に加わり、また1870年代に始まる初期の自由民権運動の担い手の一部になって活躍した者もあった。1947年（昭和22）戸籍法の改正により、士族は他の身分呼称とともに廃止された。

［石塚裕道］

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