JigeninShimobito (government official who were not allowed to see the emperor) (地下人)
Jigenin' or 'Shimobito' is one of the statuses of aristocrats in Japan.
Jigenin can also be called simply 'jige.'
Jigenin was a court official who was not given imperial sanction to access to the imperial court. Later, samurai warriors and commoners of the corresponding status were also called Jigenin. Even the families which were conferred upon the title of the peerage such as count or viscount after the Meiji period were called Jigenin if they were not originally court nobles.
In principle, if an official obtained the third rank, i.e., status of high court noble, he was permitted to enter the Imperial Palace; however, a noble of the fourth or fifth rank, or even a chamberlain of the sixth rank were permitted to enter the Imperial Palace ('Tenjobito') if they were given imperial sanction. Conversely, those who do not match these conditions are Jigenin--A high ranked noble, who should have been given imperial sanction according to the principle but was not given due to political or personal reasons, was classified as Jigenin, called 'a high ranked noble of Jige' 'kandachime of Jige'. Jigenin of fourth or fifth rank was called 'shodaibu (masters) of Jige'.
When the family ranks were gradually defined after the middle ages, the families were clearly divided without regard to the official ranks: Toshoke, the families permitted to enter the Imperial Palace; and Jigeke, the families held the status of Jigenin.