The Gonin Gumi (五人組) were groups of five households that were held collectively responsible, in a manner similar to the Frith-borh in England, during the Edo period of Japanese history.
[1][2] When the Tokugawa Shogunate came to power, they implemented a patriarchal system in Japan by reinforcing organized farming villages.
[3] The Japanese official register declared that members of the collective are "duty bound to keep watch not only over the doings of their families, but also of their employees and tenants, as they are responsible to the Government for actions of these people.
"[3] The Gonin Gumi were primarily aimed at combating the vagabondage and brigandage of the time, including mutual defence against the rōnin.
Some sources underscored that this system was established for the purpose of taxation and the peasant households that constitute each Gonin Gumi were jointly held responsible for a member's inability to pay.