In modern times, the Yamato race has such a high literacy rate on a global basis that a foreigner who came to Japan in the Edo period reported that he was surprised that the Yamato people were able to read regardless of their status or sex.
近世の大和民族は、世界的に見ても識字率が高い民族であり、江戸時代に海外から来日した外国人は、大和民族が身分や男女の別なく文字が読める事を驚きと共に本国に伝えている。