Hinin

Hi-nin (非人 (ひにん)) was an outcast group in ancient Japan, more specifically the Edo Period of Japanese history. The direct translation of the phrase "Hinin" is "non-human". Hinin and Eta (穢多 (えた)) consisted of the lowest social class in ancient Japan. In fact, the Hinin and Eta themselves weren't considered to be in the social hierarchy at all. Hinins were forced to do polluting activities such as begging, street performing and a large population of Hinin buried the bodies of people who had been executed.

In ancient Japan, beggers belonged to the Hi-nin class.

Eta directly translates to "polluted ones" and was closely intertwined with the Hinin social class. Both phrases were used for those deemed to be separate from society with a few minor distinctions between them. The occupation of those who were called Eta was mostly skinning animals and tanning. These jobs were associated with sinning due to the heavy practice of Buddhism and Shinto in Edo Japan, thus those who did these jobs were considered to be filled with sin and therefore "polluted".

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History

Hinin could be adopted by poor commoners and commoners having committed crimes. The Hinin status was hereditary. Nevertheless, unlike Eta, it was possible for the offspring of hinin to rejoin the commoner class, as long as they met some requirements.[2]

In 1871, the Hinin as an identity was legally abolished. However, Hinins were still officially discriminated against by the authorities. They were called "new commoners" (新平民 (しんへいみん)), which indicated that they had once been members of the lowest class in the past. After the second world war, anti-discrimination regulations were enforced in Japan, but discrimination towards the offspring of Hinin and Eta still exist in Japanese society today.[3][4]

Types of Hinin

The Hinin themselves were split into two separate categories that were based on their previous status as citizens.

"No-hinin" (野非人(のひにん)) were those who resemble today's current status of the homeless. This group consisted of people who couldn't pay tax because of disease or other reasons. No-hinin lived in specific areas due to society pushing them out, such as under bridges or near riverbanks.

"Kakae-hinin" (抱非人(かかえひにん)) was a category that had two subset of people. “hinin-teka”非人手下(ひにんてか）were those who were given the class distinction for committing a crime against the “kujigata-osamegaki” (公事方御定書(くじがたおさめがき)), the law code of Edo Japan. The other subset were those who inherited the class distinction through their parents. People would be given the Hini-teka title if they, for example, committed extramarital acts within their family; were a survivor of an attempted collective couple suicide; were a survivor of an attempted collective suicide with their housemaid; were under 15 year old No-hinins and caught stealing.

Returning to Society

The "kae-hinin" subset class were unique in that they were able to buy their way back into society and get the “heimin" (平民（へいみん）) class status if some money has been paid by their family or relatives. The process is similar to the concept of bail nowadays.

Occupation

Basically, Hinin’s occupation is Monogoi 物乞い(ものごい）, Monomorai物貰い（ものもらい）, which is trying to get something from other persons, and Yu-gei 遊芸（ゆうげい）it means they will perform something to the audience. And only Hinin allowed to going Monogoi. Also, they did Kadoduke門付け（かどづけ） which is cleaning the town. They sought and re-used discarded paper. And patrol, they performed cremations, cared for the sick, and they are in the prison.

References

1. 非人. 朝日新聞社コトバンク. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
2. Szczepanski, Kallie. "Japan's Untouchables: The Burakumin". thoughtco.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
3. Keiji, Nagahara (1979). "The Medieval Origins of the Eta-Hinin". Journal of Japanese Studies. 5 (2): 385. doi:10.2307/132103. ISSN 0095-6848.
4. 新平民. 朝日新聞社コトバンク. Retrieved 2018-12-28.

[1] [2] [3]

1. 非人の職業
2. Polluted Ones
3. 非人の種類