ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I discuss the kugonin, Japanese special fishermen who took an active part within the mikuriya (areas with extraterritorial rights) of the medieval Province of Kawachi, located in the southeastern part of present-day Osaka Prefecture. The purposes of this study is to demonstrate that the inhabitants of the medieval Nishinotsuji site were kugonin; to clarify that the kugonin contributed greatly to the imperial household’s economy through their diverse activities; and to propose a theory regarding the origin of the burakumin in Japan.
