Ninomiya Sontoku - Agricultural Reformer - Satsuma Statue

Meiji Satsuma Wood-gatherer - 13" tall. there's a small break in the book/text that he's reading. otherwise, perfect. i think he's so beautiful!! there's an interesting history of the wood-gatherer in Europe [the words 'Fag' and 'Faggot' come from that history]. From what i've heard, 'deviants' were not allowed to own property of any type - beyond the clothes on their backs and what they could carry. So they often lived off what they could gather on the commons - or public lands. Sometimes they would strike it rich, and this was seen in the clothes they wore, but never anything beyond that. I wonder what the history of the wood-gatherer is in Japan?