Shortly after the reunification of the Country in the seventeenth century, the bakufu, embarked on a strict campaign to redefine the social roles and to keep control of the entire society. The new hierarchical system took the name of  Shinōkōshō 士農工商and it was divided into four main social categories: the bushi 武士, the farmers, the craftsmen, and the merchants; the latter were often regarded as ill-reputated. Above the Shinōkōshō system stood the Shōgun, the clergy, the Emperor and his family, and the kuge 公家. People whose work dealt with blood and death, criminals, beggars, and art performers belonged to special classes known as eta 穢多and hinin 非人and they were considered outcasts. To further enhance this…