The upper class peasants called Shoya or Nanushi (village headman) had evenly matched education to the samurai, and even the lower class peasants could read hiragana and katakana, if not kanji (Chinese characters).〔【出典】『日本経済の秘密』(岸本建夫著)◆【出版社】株式会社ヤック企画 〕"YA01-017", "2510366"