lowest-rank labourer or entertainer (medieval Japan)
Historical term for people of the lowest social class in medieval Japan, often engaged in menial labour, entertainment, or tasks considered impure.
In medieval Japan, kawaramono engaged in leather processing and performing arts.
kabuki actor (Edo period); theatre people
Archaic derogatory term for kabuki actors and theatre people during the Edo period, derived from the earlier low-status association.
See also: 河原乞食
In the Edo period, kawaramono were also called kawara kojiki and were despised.
Literally 'riverbed person', referring to people who lived and worked on the dry riverbeds (河原) of medieval Japan, a place associated with outcasts and low-status occupations.