Hey, I had responded to a similiar question a few months ago, the link to this post is here . In the post I discuss the lives and general history of merchants, farmers, and tradespeople, in Japan between 12th and 17th century. I can not specifically offer a comparison between these people in Japan vs China/Europe as I am not read up on China/Europe to the degree to give a meaningful comparison. I would check out the linked post though, as I think it covers a good deal of what your looking for. If you have any specific questions on this afterwards, Id be happy to assist.