Kozukuri Ninkatsu Bu- Upd (2024)

By the mid-Edo period (1700s), the Kozukuri Ninkatsu Bu- lost its purpose. Peacetime had lasted generations. The samurai became bureaucrats, and the tenants became stubborn negotiators. The department’s powers were gradually transferred to the village headmen ( shōya ) and the Gonin-gumi elders, who were often wealthier farmers themselves – thus creating a buffer class.

When a daimyō marched to war (e.g., the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600), the Kozukuri Ninkatsu Bu- activated this list within 72 hours. The tenant left his plow, picked up a yari (spear) or a pack frame, and became a cog in the war machine. If he survived, he returned to his paddy. If he died, his name was struck from the Ninbetsu-chō , and his family was relocated to a "surplus tenant dormitory village." Kozukuri Ninkatsu Bu-