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水呑百姓 (mizunomibyakushou) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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ぶん
の
田た
畑はた
を
持も
た
ず
、
小こ
作さく
や
日ひ
雇やと
い
で
生せい
計けい
を
立た
て
て
い
た
。
In the Edo period, mizunomi-byakushō owned no farmland of their own and made a living as tenant farmers or day laborers.
The term mizunomi-byakushō carries contempt for poverty.
Related words 小こ 作さく 人にん 小作人 is a neutral term for a tenant farmer, while 水呑百姓 is a derogatory historical term emphasizing extreme poverty.
貧ひん 農のう 貧農 is a general term for a poor farmer, without the specific historical and derogatory nuance of 水呑百姓.
Written forms 水みず 呑のみ 百びゃく 姓しょう
Standard kanji spelling; 呑 is a variant of 飲.
水みず 呑の み 百びゃく 姓しょう
Variant with okurigana み.
水みず 飲の み 百びゃく 姓しょう
Variant using the standard 飲 kanji.
Etymology Literally 'water-drinking peasant', from 水 (water) + 呑む (to drink) + 百姓 (peasant). The term implies that the peasant was so poor they could only afford to drink water.
