hinin

thumb|In Edo society, beggars belonged to the Hi-nin class.

Hi-nin (kanji: , hiragana: ; ) was an outcast group (burakumin) in ancient Japan, more specifically the Edo period of Japanese history (1603–1868). Hinin and Eta () consisted of the lowest social classes in ancient Japan, but were not considered part of the social hierarchy. Hinin were forced to do "polluting" activities such as begging, street performing, and burying the bodies of people who had been executed.