"Feudal" or "medieval" Japan had a social structure that merged with social and economic hierarchies. The Emperor was the top of social logic, having absolute power over the kingdom. Shogun was the military and political leader. The Daimyos, military nobles, represented the Shoguns, but they were subjugated by those. Beneath them were the well-known Samurai, loyal to the shoguns and daimyos. They were professional warriors and had social prestige, even though they had no voice in political decision making. Below them were the Ronin, a kind of socially unimportant samurai, serving as bodyguards or mercenaries. Peasants, artisans, and merchants made up the rest of the classes, most of the Japanese population at the time, generally poor and without any political power, were the basis of society, which had a mobility that was virtually impossible to achieve.
