Les marges statutaires dans le Japon prémoderne: enjeux et débats. (French)

The article focuses on the construction of social status in the Japanese society during the Edo period (1600-1867). After the second World War, several historians, including Amino Yoshihiko, rejected the vision of the premodern Japan with a society divided into two classes, the warriors and the farmers, but rather believed in the existence of several categories of population, such as itinerants, sailors, artisans and women. However, a debate exists between historians who think that modern Japan built itself on a revolution led by the high class, while others think it came from the peasantry. This question is still important to Japanese society, and historians attach weight to this subject in order to contribute to reformist politics and help educate the mass population.