Generally called hinin (literally, not human beings), people discriminated against in the medieval can be classified into kawaramono (literally, people living in river side areas), shuku no mono (literally, people at shuku (inn-clustered towns along a big road)), sanjomin (literally, people at various places), or Shomonji (itinerant performers whose work encompassed both Noh performance and religious rituals) (Shomonji (lower-ranked diviners)).
中世の被差別民は、一般的に非人と呼称されていたが、河原者、宿の者、散所民、声聞師（唱門師）などに分類できる。