Database: Peasant Life

During the 16th century, the vast majority of the population consisted of peasants. Most of them lived in villages away from the more densely populated areas in central and western Japan. A collective approach to agriculture and shared access to local resources such as wood, charcoal, and food, forged strong social ties within communities. Farmers did not technically own their cropland and were subject to multiple rights (shiki) which required heavy taxes that each farmer had to pay. This system was challenged by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who introduced a cadastre system to impose order along with his infamous sword-hunts.

Between the common peasants and the great lords, there was a separate class of wealthier peasant known as the gōnō or the jizamurai, whose status varied depending on their region as well as the time period in which they lived. These gōnō rented plots to be developed by the poorest farmers. In Iga, they built fortified housing from where they controlled the local peasantry from one or even several villages.