<P> Merchants were at the bottom of the social order because they generated wealth without producing any goods . As this indicates, the classes were not arranged by wealth or capital but by what philosophers described as their moral purity . </P> <P> In actuality, shinōkōshō does not accurately describe Tokugawa society . Buddhist and Shinto priests; or court nobles (kuge); and outcast classes including eta and hinin (those sold or sentenced into indentured servitude) were not included in this description of hierarchy . In some cases, a poor samurai could be little better off than a peasant and the lines between the classes could blur, especially between artisans and merchants in urban areas . Still, the theory provided grounds for restricting privileges and responsibilities to different classes and it gave a sense of order to society . In practice, solidified social relationships in general helped create the political stability that defined the Edo period . </P> <P> Samurai functioned as the warrior class in Japan; they constituted about 7--8% of the population . The other classes were prohibited from possessing long swords such as the tachi or katana . Carrying both a long and a short sword became the symbol of the samurai class . </P> <P> During the feudal period, samurai were warriors that fought for a lord in a feudal relationship . The Edo period, however, was largely free from both external threats and internal conflicts . Instead, the samurai maintained their fighting skills more as an art than to fight . Samurai were paid a stipend from their lord, limiting their ties to the economic base . In addition, samurai could not own land, which would have given them income independent from their duty . Samurai generally lived around their daimyō's castle, creating a thriving town or city environment around the middle of a domain . </P>

The highest rank in the warrior class of japanese feudal society was the