Making Room to Grow

This paper examines rōnin (“masterless samurai”) and the rōnin label in Tokugawa Japan (1603–1868) through a focus on their interactions with rural areas and rural development projects. By positioning rōnin as a highly varied social group in search of livelihood and social status, this paper shows that conventional descriptions of them as disruptive ruffians overlook their social significance and complexities and misunderstand their existence as rural semi-elite. It highlights that rōnin were an important factor in the expansion of rural productivity, and that the rōnin label was instrumental in shaping rural social hierarchy throughout the Tokugawa period.