Japan's Feudal Caste System

From the moment we leave the ship or plane and step onto Japanese soil, everything around us proclaims a different culture, a different heritage. But this Japan that we live in today is worlds apart from the country it used to be. The ancient Japan of yesterday, gone from the earth forever, has, however, been made immortal through song, verse, legend and tradition.

The symbol of those days is the caste system. It was the framework on which society was built, and included everyone from the emperor down to the lowest field worker. Caught within its boundaries was the scholar, the priest, the Samuri warrior and the nobleman. The caste system was followed rigidly by everyone in the Empire - it controlled the life of every man for hundreds of years.

We have chosen this ancient system, a symbol of old Japan, to help explain school life in Yokohama. We offer the Krimson K of 1963-64 to the student body in the hope that it will always be a reminder of a wonderful year at Yo-Hi.

Photos from Dana Patrick Sowers 1964 Yearbook