Shokunin

Shokunin (職人・craftman) are those who are skilled and create things by hands in the industrial field. Traditionally shokunin are respected in the society, and in fact, in Edo periodo they were considered to be a higher social class than merchants.

In modern Japan, the word shokunin applies to wider professions. As well as those who dedicate handicraft, carpenter (大工・Daiku), plasterer (左官・Sakan) and gardener (庭師・Niwashi), those who deal with food such as shushi chef or baker.

The most respected shokunin were those who manage metal. Japan used to bring many metal shokunin from Korea as they were known to have excellent skill.