During Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867), samurai warriors occupied the highest rank in Japanese culture. The rigid caste system that privileged samurai over all others—including farmers and merchants—was established in the early 17th century. Daimyo, high-ranking samurai lords, ruled from castles that served as status symbols and administrative centers, with the castle environs populated by their samurai retainers. Samurai were supposed to adhere to a strict sense of duty, loyalty, and martial skill, conforming to bushido, or “the way of the warrior.” The higher a samurai’s rank, the closer he lived to his master. Since the Edo Period was so peaceful, the martial arts of combat and self-defense (like karate and judo) eventually declined in importance, and the feudal system in Japan came to an end.

Seikei’s lower status as a son of a merchant precludes him from becoming a samurai, because lineage and birthright established one’s caste and occupation during this era, regardless of an individual’s preferences or talents. For a long time, merchants occupied a position of lower standing because of their dealings with money, but their increasing wealth meant that more of them could afford to educate their children and enjoy luxuries usually reserved for samurai. In The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn, this change in status is reflected in Seikei’s education, his father’s insistence that they ride in kago rather than walk, and their ability to afford the same lodgings as a powerful daimyo.