noun
poor peasant; peasant farmer
Historical derogatory term for a peasant who owned little or no land, often reduced to drinking water instead of tea or sake. Used in pre-modern contexts.
In the Edo period, mizunomi-byakushō owned no farmland of their own and made a living as tenant farmers or day laborers.
「水呑百姓」という言葉には、貧しさへの蔑みが込められている。
The term mizunomi-byakushō carries contempt for poverty.