History of the Ashigaru - Peasant Foot Soldiers of Premodern Japan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.พ. 2023
- Ashigaru (peasant foot soldiers) were the main backbone of Samurai armies during the Sengoku Jidai, the real height of Samurai warfare. In this video we examine the origins and rise of peasant foot soldiers in premodern Japan.
This video is done in collaboration with "Samurai and Ninja History" and "Sengoku Studies戦国研究" Check out their Japanese peasant videos!
Samurai and Ninja History: • Japanese History | Med...
Sengoku Studies戦国研究: • “Wealthy Peasants” of ...
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Sources Used:
"Samurai Weapons and Fighting Techniques" by Thomas Conlan
"State of War" by Thomas Conlan
"A History of the Samurai" by Jonathan López-Vera
"Hideyoshi" by Mary Elizabeth Berry
"Samurai Battles" by Michael Sharpe
"Warriors of Medieval Japan" by Stephen Turnbull
Additional information found through the Japanese Wiki Corpus www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/...
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Music:
"Arctic Forest" by Akira Ifukube
Artwork and Images:
Classical art, which in most cases can be considered public domain.
Art from Osprey Publications.
Other modern artist renditions and photos, if you see your work in this video please contact me so that I can give you proper credit!
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Social Media:
Facebook: / theshogunateyoutube
Twitter: / shogunatethe
Support the channel on Patreon! www.patreon.com/theshogunatey...
#Samurai #History #Japan
1 interesting factoid is that during the Heike war era (Minamoto vs Taira) samurai would write a name tag on their arrows (so if they killed someone everybody would know they shot the arrow). The non samurai attendants were not allowed to write their names on their arrows (but were certainly allowed to shoot). If a samurai got killed by a nameless arrow it was said he was killed by a "stray" arrow.
Imagine a field full of dead soldiers killed by random stray arrows
An early instance of a kill count system in history
Kill stealing must be a pain to figure out
I guess then that if a samurai was hit by several arrows, and only one of them named, even if the hit was not life-threatening, the kill would still go to the samurai with his name on the arrow.
I’m sure the paths followed by the Ashigaru at the end of the sengoku was as diverse as the personalities who filled the ranks. That said I could see how number of them would find their way into roles as bodyguards in gambling houses or hired muscle for organized crime syndicates. Competing with wandering Samurai for any sort of role where they could eke out a living. It was likely a pretty grim situation for the Men who could not transition into a world without war.
Post Vietnam
@@dravenocklost4253 back to farming.. yash ... employment... hmmmm..
The sengoku Era took peasant footsoldiers from their farms to fight in the armies. They would return back to their farms if they lived, assuming they are on the winning side. The ones who lose are often seized or executed depending on the type of conflict. Many turn to bandits and other occupations like you listed, but most worked on farms or do what they did before the war.
@@NoobNoobNews but Vietcong did win the war.. yeah.. so does Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and more... hmmmm..
America alway loose the war but their military industries need to create a justification for wars and war profiteering... dead simple... 😅..
Back to the farm we go..hmmmm
Samurai have some additional quirks. There are civilian jobs with a cultural taboo. People are not supposed to slide into farming.
A bunch of them filter into the civilian administration and police, but there's still a bunch trying to figure things out.
I truly love the Ashigaru, it’s a shame they’re never really touched on and overshadowed by the samurai.
"I'm doing my part!"
- a volunteer ashigaru, maybe
Yari ashigaru spear wall is op lol
@@HW.0029 try ashigaru grenadiers
@@HW.0029Ah yes. Yari ashigaru. The most OP unit in Shogun 2.
samurai didn't actually do shit lmao, literally just carried by footsoldiers who actually did fighting and cut down peasants
The difference between the ashigaru and the samurai commander is that when the commander lose his head the victorious clean the head and sent it to his family, the ashigaru's head is put in a pile to rot away.
Thank you for making this one. It’s weird how little people talk about this topic.
I for one think Ashigaru are pretty cool too.
Yari ashigarus form yari wall. Unstoppable power for pennies
To think that Hideyoshi rise from the lowest ashigaru to Kampaku of all Japan is amazing, but even more is that he forbidden any other peasant to take up arms and become a samurai🧐
Out of left field but, "The oppressed dream of becoming the oppressor when education isn't liberating"
There were Chinese emperors who used to be peasants, too.
@@BountyFlamor Correct. The last being Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Ming Emperor.
Toyotomi outlawed Christianity too. He initiated a brutal crackdown on the foreign religion
@@residentrump3271 Toyotomi, in general, did a great job unifying Japan but would've lost it in short order. The failed invasions of Korea, the crackdowns, the banning of peasants upward mobility would've all caused another collapse into anarchy if Tokugawa Ieyasu hadn't cemented the unification at Sekigahara.
Finally, some wholesome chadigaru content
"why have samurai when all you need is 10 peasants with spears to kill him" don't know where i read that at but thought it was pretty epic
lol
A nice and rare video that focuses on Ashigaru who played a pivotal role in battles when viewed collectively. Since most of them do not have lots of experiences/matured skills of using a sword efficiently and effectively, they tend to be given short practices for bow, spear (especially a long one), long-handled sword and later guns (that were not easy to use on a horse) so that they can keep some sort of distances against enemies in order to minimize fears.
As always a well reasoned and thought out explanation. Although there was an ability to move from peasant class to the Samurai class this was the exception to the rule. There needed to be a correct circumstance for this to occur. A lord who felt an individual had distinguished himself enough for such an appointment. The lord had to have enough wealth, to apportion a small part of to the newly minted samurai, and a need to increase his clans component of lower class samurai. The majority of militarily skilled members of Ashigaru became the equivalent of senior and junior NCOs in modern armies. These individuals were necessary to make the Ashigaru into skill professional foot soldiers, commanded by Samurai of varying military skills.
Thank you !
I always thought that the Ashigaru have been over looked in history.
You are very welcome!
Ashigaru are terrifying in groups
Even moreso than the samurai.
One of the thing that Hideyoshi did is sent most of the battle hardened soldiers to Korea to try to reduce tension in the mainland from the soon to be jobless soldiers.
Peasant with spears, and knowledge with guns.
I like how that the guns in the thumbnail are aiming at a duolingo bird crying
Thank you and Much Love from the Philippines.
Thank you for doing this one. Maybe next you could do the Sōhei warrior monks. I think you’ve done every other warrior class in Japan.
I think a good way to tell the difference between ashigaru and samurai would be to see their legacy. Did their families retain a fief or any other sort of inheritable possessions? Did any of the children or grandchildren of distinguished ashigaru actually gain anything from their predecessor's actions? If so, that would make ashigaru, for all practical reasons, samurai in all but name.
If not, I wonder if the descendants of ashigaru would have perhaps become a "middle class", without much land (if any), but still maintaining some level of social renown and/or wealth into the Edo Period.
I've been waiting for an ashigaru video Thanks!
After smashing Ashigaru stacks with my own Ashigaru stacks in Shogun 2, I think my brave men are worth learning about 🫡😭
Our men are running from the battlefield.....a shameful display....
Thank you for the great information. Really interesting.
The development of the ashigaru reminds me A lot of the rise of mercenary companies in europe. I know that calling comparisons between unrelated cultures can Easily lead to misconceptions, but it's startling how many close parallels there are between European and Japanese military progression (even pre-contact)
@seanpoore2428: Vastly different cultures have often found similar solutions to similar problems without having the opportunity to share, or to copy or to consult with outsiders. At the of the day, it comes down to humans dealing with human problems and human concerns as humans do.
@@dpeasehead this exactly. at the end of the day, humans gonna human
One interesting parallel I drew once was at the similarity between the Ikko Ikki and the Hussait rebellions.
Absolutely love this channel
This should be a great one! Just started the Video
Truly remarkable work. Thank you for your continued research in these subjects and providing them through these videos. Keep up your hard work.
Very interesting video, thanks for sharing. I've always been interested in the fluidity of social status in pre-Hideyoshi Japan and enjoyed your presentation on the subject.
You know, I was just wondering about the Ashigaru! Their history, how they were trained and recruited! This is the perfect video for me right now :D
I think you can compare a lot of these developments with the growing return of mass armies in Europe, and the role of conscripted/recruited soldiery in the early modern period.
A lot of blokes with spears are simply a concept many cultures develop independently. You need the logistics to support and feed a mass of people moving about, and social systems that let you muster them all.
Samurai also face a "demobilization" after the wars. Unlike ashigaru, they have cultural taboos against picking up many civilian careers. There's a surplus of soldiery overall in those years.
I was hoping that something like that would come out sooner or later. It always fascinated me and really, I want more from this topic xd
YARIMAZING!
I always appreciate the information thanks
I'd like to see more on Servants to the Samurai. I have not heard any in depth discussion on this topic, and it even relates to this video.
Learning something new...ty..love the art
If the word “samurai” means to serve, then that would mean that the ashigaru would be samurai by definition since they served a lord.
By that logic, so would the peasants in the field.
All men must serve.
Love your videos!
So Ashigaru are Medieval foot soldiers, knights are samurai, and then Sohei monks are the Templars or Teutonic Knights. So...what does that leave Ninjas with?
Ninjas could be anyone
They could disguise themselves as commoners, monks, samurai, or even are samurai themselves, but are more specialised in irregular warfare, such as Hattori
For European "counterparts"
As someone who is studying Scottish war of independence, one of the tactics the Scots use to fight the English was taking a castle using unusual means
For example the king and his retainers would use blankets to pretend to be cows outside a castle, and when night come they throw out the disguise, climb into the castle open the gates and took it
Sounds like what a ninja would do right?
Assassins
Nice Layout of the different levels over time
I've always read the Ashigaru article on Wikipedia for the last few years. Now that I saw this video, it intrigues me as to why people didn't cover more about the role of Ashigaru in warfare. Although, obviously it's due to the lack of glory in being a common foot soldier.
I love you're content, it's been helping me understand a lot about Japanese culture and warfare, I've been writing a scifi series and I'm trying to base an empire's peasant's population after the Ashigaru and this helped a good bit, Thank you.
How did Japan 🇯🇵 become so Violent ⁉️
Yarimazing!
Ashigaru, common spearmen, are the bedrock of Oda might!
It’s nice to here about the rank and file who fought with the Samurai we often where about so much
Can you do an examination of the Amago? They're underrated, also I love their crest and purple color and their portraits in Nobunagas Ambition SOI. A "In defense of Haruhisa Amago" would be cool too.
In your research for this video did you ever find anything on how ashigaru were recruited? I was always curious if a daimyo just put out the word to each village to send up so many men or if it was like with dark ages Britan where they'd raise the fjord and send them off to war.
They were either conscripted by their landlord to fight for the clan lord or volunteered themselves when word got around about an upcoming war
An amazing job as usual, just a friendly suggestion, did you consider making the video about Heian to Onin period? I mean talking about Heike-Genji surely interesting, and the full story of ashikaga bakufu
Yes I am planning on going back to make more videos regarding earlier periods!
A short series from the arrival of commodore perry to 1877 with the battle of shiroyama an the death of Saigo takamori would be awesome
Very intersting stuff.
Give ashigaru some yaris and watch them become second coming of the spartans.
Give them a LONG yari and watch them become literal gods of war.
For those who know the reference.
Damn right!
Slammed that shit until mid game and still works like a charm
Chad yari Ashigaru always being interisting unit for me
my fav s2 soldier!!!!
Hello Shogun, thank you for your video. As great as usual. I having some question I trying to find answers but I can't find. It would be great if you look into this.
I always wonder if the Japanese ever fighting in phalanx like formation since they love to use pike/spear similar the Greek or perhaps they have something similar to pike and shot .
Yes the Ashigaru seemed to have formed what we consider to be a "spear wall" but the way they used the spears themselves might have been different, with more sweeping motions I have heard.
The Son Goku period is my favorite time in Japanese history.
What is the art you're using at 8:13 and try to do a video series on Japanese art like that, it's highly underappreciated! I'm that guy smoking that long pipe glancing at the bald guys weird haircuts, can you do a video on weird hairstyles? Also underappreciated 😂
The Chadhigaru
It does appear that the Ashigaru was a bit if a Japanese prototype for what is today seen as a conventional soldier for a standing army. It appears Japan was naturally progressing its professionalism in warfare and the Ashigaru was the next step.
They appear to have emerged as a response for some of the flaws within the heretical feudal warrior caste of Samurai. Which was to reinforce the increasing size of armies without putting extra stress on the social system of having to inflate the number of Samurai.
Looking further it appears they even served a very similar Enlisted/Officer relationship.
Who would win?
The Virgin Samurai, who’ve trained for years to master the blade.
Or the Chad Yari Ashigaru, just a bunch of lads with spears.
Hey Shogunate, first of all: great work. A question for you (and maybe Antony Cummins): With the blurring lines between ashigaru und samurai, commoner and soldiers: Were Jizsamurai in the massed ranks of ashigaru, fighting in an Ashigaru formed infantry style or did they fight more in a Samurai-like headhunting group tactic style?
That's a great question! From my understanding, a jizamurai would have still been above an ashigaru in terms of pecking order. Yet they probably fought side by side. Sengoku Studies has made a couple great videos on the topic of Jizamurai
There's no debate between roles of Ashigaru and Samurai. While you can say that Ashigaru served their lord in battle similar to a Samurai, only Samurai are ever given administrative duties, during and after warfare.
Didn't Hideyoshi Toyotomi start out as a humble Ashigaru?
EDIT: Nevermind. Looks like he got highlighted in the video😁
yes, in fact i think he was actually Oda Nobuna's sandal bearer. And look at what he became
@@LDHulll Being the sandal bearer (or any other personal servant) was already an honorable service, so Hideyoshi was not at the lowest from the get go.
Even some nobles would sqable for the chance to be that, or a cup bringer, or a bottom wiper for a high ranking Daimyo (yes, there was a person whose jo was to wipe the ass and to colect the bucket of his lord after he did his business, and that was a GREAT HONOR).
That is why he was in the right place and time to bring an enemy lord's head to present to Nobunaga, beying this the reason for his status upgrade.
Hideioshi was not from the samurai class itself, but he was not a "real peasant" either.
He already had some status.
Definitely would say Ashigaru are professional soldiers by the end of the Sengoku Jidai. Samurai seem to be more like Knights or landed lords persay where the Ashigaru are the footsoldier or soldier of the main armed force, not a direct transfer since western Europe terminology for Japanese culture doesn't match exactly. I know after going through such a turbulent period the Ashigaru who survived would definitely feel like professional soldiers those who wished to continue on such a path are most likely those who became Ronin or bandits, some may not of had a farm or home to return to and would inevitably be forced to continue in such a life as well.
SUPERPERFECT! GREETINGS FROM GERMANY!
Please correct me if I made a poor comparison here: I feel Ashigaru is the Japanese counterpart of "Men at Arm" in many aspects such as the wealth they can garner and how well armed they could be.
That is the case for some Ashigaru, they could be the equivalents of Men at arms. For most of them they would be the equivalent of Peasant levies, the depiction we all know of them in samurai-like armor, just with a jingasa/cone hat is bogus. Most Ashigaru only wore a headband/jingasa, a kimono, and a simple chestplate. Most of them were nowhere near as heavily armed as depicted in modern art.
@@safiakhan4627 Thank you. The reason I got that impression was that I recently learned that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was an ashigaru in Nobunaga's faction (sounds like sandal bearer is on par with orderly of today)
epic
I read somewhere that ashigaru literal means "iron hats." I can't remember the book at the moment.
Could you talk about the fujiwara clan and it's history
Supposedly the Ashigaru who fought in Korea during the Imjin War were held in high regard by their Korean enemies. Very well drilled soldiers.
Yari wall was damn OP
Out of curiosity, could you cover what women in feudal Japan did (preferably all classes, from samurai to peasant)?
The way I took this was ashigaru was the infantry while the samurai are the modern equivalent of squad leaders or officers
They were different social classes and may have used different weapons. However, there training and experience means that they were just as lethal as each other. Given pillage and rewards the level of equipment would be comparable in some cases. So it comes what do you define as Samurai? Is it just that they have to have martial skill? Or do they need to be a noble as well? If so then no they are not Samurai as they aren't the latter.
In feudal England the Sargent man at arms became as common as the knightly man at arms and in addition to being noble's retainers the could hold directly from the crown although probably with less land than than a knight's fee
The very same thing happened in the west at approximately the same time period.. The infantry took over as the main component of the battlefield next to the ground they were fighting on.
Ashigaru could fill any role on the battlefield you could possibly need. They became even more important than the samurai themselves.
The common infantryman is the backbone of any army and having well-drilled, well-led, and highly-disciplined infantry forms the core of your fighting force while they work in tandem with the cavalry, artillery, etc.
Samurai were important, but without a core of good infantry, you have nothing.
"Ashigaru, common spearman. Are bedrock of Oda's might"
Oda introduce cutscenes (Shogun 2 TW)
Honestly pesants turned to soldiers always interests me more than knights,samurai and the like. I mean alot of powerfull nations rose just because they could effectivly train,orginise and deploy them. I mean Swiss pikes dominated the late mid to early late medieval period in Europe, then Landsknecht would follow useing gun powder and the Sweds would perfect the both by the 30 years war
yarimazing
@The shogunate did you know that samurai used explosive rockets called Bo-hiya
What will happen when You finish all samurai topics ? You allredy have completed the sengoku jidai .
he will find a way to time travel and interview a samurai
He said in an earlier video that he will be covering the Edo period.
Ashigaru were adopted into the Samurai class in the Edo period (S Turnbull : The Samurai).
Very intrusting I don't hear alot about the common fighters of ancient Japan . I am sure at some point their training allowed them to hold there own after all that short sword or pole weapon they had was prity good. I for one like the short one better that the katana. But I like short swords have a good day and thank you 😊.
As a Japanese, Japanese uses the word "武士(Bushi)" more than "侍(Samurai)".
The mention of "loan armor" made me wonder: How were Samurai and Daimyo able to afford to equip their Ashigaru with "loan" equipment? The term implies that it's being issued to them, rather than the Ashigaru being expected to have bought or otherwise provided their own gear. Even if the Ashigaru equipment would be of a lower quality, that would still be a significant expense, especially as the amount of Ashigaru increased.
I think the armour of Ashigaru was held in the 'Castles' of the local Samurai and it was cheap - but still a significant expense I agree, even though most depictions of Ashigaru show them in tatami gusoku, light folding armour.
Maybe the line between ashigaru and samurai was something like the line between the Senate and the Equestrian Order in Rome? The former aristocratic, the latter more meritocratic. Samurai differentiated by things like poetry and literature, the arts of sado, chado, kodo and the Book of Five Rings, Bushido.
The guys in the background who carried the samurai.
Two suggestions: Yamabushi and Sohei
I always saw them as a kind of militiamen, being samurai just the professional
1545. This is Sengoku Jidai: The Age of the Country at War. For 200 years the Ashikaga Shoguns have ruled from Kyoto. Great splendor and power were theirs. Now the over mighty clans no longer obey. The time has come for a new warlord to become Shogun! But who will be victorious? Oda lands have always provided for our people. Our enemies are many and envious. They threaten our borders and look for any weakness. Others may covet titles, but Ashigaru, common spearmen, are the bedrock of Oda might. All know us The Commanders of a Thousand Spears. It is an honor to lead such men. Our generals are battle scarred veterans of righteous strength. Bishamonten the War God has awoken. Now is the time to defeat our enemies. All will bow to the Oda Clan. We wait no longer. DESTINY CALLS!
Shogun 2 Total War.
Standardized equipment, mass conscripment,... things that Europe would do 2 centuries later. Anyway the description in total war shogun quite funny "promise of regular meals, roof atop of head make most peasant signed up" and "almost any village idiot can hold spear" lmao..
Thnks for sharing this👍
Chad long yari Ashigaru vs virgin Samurai Hero
i'm no expert but i think humanity always goes pretty much around the same patterns. the need of a bigger army always transcends the concept of elite or nobility, we see that in europe, we see that in asia. japan being a very strict country about social status makes categories much more evident, compared to other places in the world, maybe. but when we reduce the gravy, the flavour is pretty much the same. elite, nobility, and a more or less regular army, spiced up with some very good mercenaries or men at arms. humans never change, we just like to categorize stuff, today even more so. we need bodies for war, we can't afford to train them all, coz we still need people that actually work. in times of peace, we forget how a shoemaker was good at fighting and we want them to go back to their regular lives, with little credit and huge ptsd. fantastic. ;)
How do the Ashigaru compare to their contemporaries, the German Landkeshneks, Spanish Tercio and Ottoman Janissaries??
Japanese peasant armies could do well with unruly disorganized mercenaries and irregular warriors, and if utilized well, would be ferocious against foreign equestrians
Why no one talk about Ashigaru? I mean they take many part in sengoku period and Japanese history. Even a history of Ashigaru not much as samurai
How about the history of nanshoku?
A large amount of soldiers suddenly being unemployed suddenly often meant changing to banditry as a way of income. Did something like that happen in Japan?
Sadly, yes. Samurai were not allowed to change their professions or actively engage in commerce because of their status and many ended up using their knowledge of the classics or calligraphy to scrape a hand-to-mouth living. The less educated became bandits, mercenaries or bodyguards.
The times of peace make good hustles for the luckiest of ronin drifters.
Ashigaru on the other hand have become unfortunately bound to their homes and unarmed since Hideyoshi’s sword hunts and foot soldier reforms
Hmm, so if the Ashigaru were on decline and somewhat formally disbanded around 1600, what did the Japanese do for infantry and manpower into the 17th century?
Was the concept of "light infantry" as implied by the Ashigaru word now no longer applicable, or did they use a different word for the same kind of militia concept, or was there now an official standing army, or was there a long-lasting period of peace and when war became a major consequence a different type of foot soldier was considered altogether?
When the Warring States Period ended and the Edo Period began
Many Ashigaru were dismissed because there were no wars.
The remaining Ashigaru became samurai family servants, government officials, or ronin.
Many of the lower-ranking officials' doshin like the police, who take care of general affairs and patrol the streets, are also served by ashigaru.
All the Ashigaru of the Tokugawa family were doshin, and ninja were also doshin.
There is a huge difference between skill and social class.
Miyamoto musashi is an
Ashigaru during the battle of sekigahara?
🤔
Was the name Ashigaru came from native Japanese, or was it imported name from Portuguese? FYI, when they came up from Cape of Good Hope, they met Indian soldiers that they called Lascar, which with some alliteration might became Ashigaru.
The emperor is Shogun, the Generals Samurai, and the Ashigaru the Army!
Interesting how things aren't so different from the west. At first soldiers must provide their own weapons and armors and only later on the state and lords begins to provide their soldiers with equipment. It makes sense, you can't really support army logistic unless you have a solid system of taxe collection and managing the wealth coming out of your land.
There is also the fact that most people would use rice to trade rather than money until the kamakura period.
“Ashigaru” is Japanese for “redshirts” in my personal vocabulary
Bro you went through that whole period from 2:00 to 3:00 without using the word "ritsuryo?"
we all kow that long yari ashigaru are the best
Who would win, a katana soldier who has trained for decades to master the use of his sword, or one ashigaru with a long stick learning how to poke in a few weeks?
@@Locoinmysleep one stick boi**
@@waterboi4846 for ever one stick boy you kill, a Samurai drags 10 peasants off their rice plantation to replace them!
All I know is that Yari Wall can beat anything