bambetsu

Updated: May 28, 2025

. The Jibu-sho, or Department of Civil Government, which examined and determined everything concerning the position of noblemen, and administered affairs relating to priests, nuns, and members of the Bambetsu,* that is to say, men of foreign nationality residing in Japan. *The reader is already familiar with the terms "Kwobetsu" and "Shimbetsu." All aliens were classed as Bambetsu.

F. (Frank) Brinkley - A History of the Japanese People : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era

Hence they received treatment different from that given to ordinary tomobe, some of them being allowed to assume the title and enjoy the privilege of uji, distinguished, however, as uji of the Bambetsu.

F. (Frank) Brinkley - A History of the Japanese People : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era

Thus it would seem that, by the ruling classes, the common people were originally considered strangers, Japanese only by adoption. Some scholars think that the term Bambetsu was at first given to serfs or freedmen of Chinese or Korean descent. But this has not been proved.

Lafcadio Hearn - Japan: an Attempt at Interpretation

The Kwobetsu comprised all Emperors and Imperial princes from Jimmu downwards. This was the premier class. The Bambetsu ranked incomparably below either the Kwobetsu or the Shimbetsu. It consisted of foreigners who had immigrated from China or Korea and of aboriginal tribes alien to the Yamato race.

F. (Frank) Brinkley - A History of the Japanese People : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era

The chief of a great clan was lord over the chiefs of the subclans attached to it: his authority was both religious and military. It must not be forgotten that religion and government were considered identical. All Japanese clan-families were classed under three heads, Kobetsu, Shinbetsu, and Bambetsu.

Lafcadio Hearn - Japan: an Attempt at Interpretation