Many of people who played active roles at the end of the Edo period, whether pro-imperial or pro-shogunate, came from these derogatory class such as lower-rank samurai, country samurai, merchants.
幕末に活躍した人びとには、勤皇方、幕府方を問わず、下級藩士・郷士・町人など軽輩階層出身者であった者が多い。