Japan's Dirtiest Jobs — and Why One of Them Created a Caste System That Still Exists

From professional fart scapegoats to the workers who literally built civilization from the ground up. Edo Japan's labor history is wild, gross, and more relevant than you'd think. In this episode, we're diving into the worst jobs of the Edo period (1603–1868): the Buddhist nuns hired to take the blame for samurai princesses' flatulence, the night soil collectors whose poop trade kept an entire nation fed, and the leather workers whose occupation got them legally classified as non-human, a designation whose effects are still felt in Japan in 2026. What we cover: 💙The heoi-bekuni — Japan's professional fart scapegoat nuns and why only Buddhist nuns could do the job 💛Night soil collectors — how human waste became the most valuable commodity in Edo Japan, complete with black markets, turf wars, and actual poop laws 💙The Burakumin — Japan's hidden caste, created by the Tokugawa shogunate, and why their story doesn't end with the Meiji Restoration ✨ Want more untold stories like this? Support the podcast and unlock bonus content over on Patreon. Website (⁠📕 Find resources here!!📕 ⁠) ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Merch Store⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Japan's Dirtiest Jobs — and Why One of Them Created a Caste System That Still Exists is an episode from For the Love of History by Tehya N..

This episode is 33:40 long.

This episode was published on Apr 24, 2026.

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