Tales of Old Japan #230467

Another class to which no allusion is made is that of the goshl. The Goshi are a kind of yeomen, or bonnet-lairds, as they would be called over the border, living on their own land, and owning no allegiance to any feudal lord. Their rank is inferior to that of the Samurai, or men of the military class, between whom and the peasantry they hold a middle place. Like the Samurai, they wear two swords, and are in many cases prosperous and wealthy men, claiming a descent more ancient than that of many of the feudal Princes. A large number of them are en rolled among the Emperor's body-guard; and these have played a conspicuous part in the recent political changes in Japan, as the most conservative _and anti-foreign element in the nation. With these exceptions, I think that all classes are fairly represented in my stories.