The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

DIVISIONS OF THE POPULATION OF JAPAN. 2U
CIIAPTEK XY.
EXECUTIONS AND HARI-KARI.
''P^IIE return to Yokohama was accomplished without any incident of
J- eonsef|uence. Fred was a little disappointed to think that their lives
had not been in peril. " Jnst a little danger for the fun of the thing,"
he remarked to Frank ; and at one time on the way he was almost in-
clined to gloominess when he reflected on tlie situation. "There hasn't
been any attack npon us," he said to himself, " when there might have
been sometliing of the kind just as well as not. Kot that I wanted any
real killing, or anything of the sort, but just a little risk of it to make
tilings lively. It's really too bad."
He was roused from his revery by the Doctor, wlio told him they were
approaching the sjjot where some EngHshmen were set upon by a party
of two-sworded Samurai, in the early times of the foreign occupation. The
attack was entirely unprovoked, and quite without warning. One of the
Englishmen was killed and another seriously wounded, while the natives
escaped unharmed. Fred wanted to know the exact character of the Sa-
murai, and why they were nearly always concerned in the attacks upon
foreigners.
" It is a long story," said Doctor Bronson, " and I am not sure that yoii
M'ill find it altogether interesting ; but it is a part of Japanese history that
you ought to know, especially in view of the fact that the Samnrai exist
no longer. With the revolution of 1868 and the consequent overthrow of
the old customs, the Samurai class was extinguished, and the wearing of,
two swords is forbidden.
" The population of Japan was formerly divided into four great classes.
The first was the military and official class, and these are what were called
Samurai ; the second was the farmer class that rented the lands from the
government, and engaged in agriculture ; the third was the artisan class,
and included all the trades and occupations of an industrial character ;
the fourth was the merchant class, including all kinds of traders from the
M'liolesale merchant to the petty peddler. Of course there were subdi\i-
and