Infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan
Ashigaru wearing armor and jingasa firing tanegashima (Japanese matchlocks)
Ashigaru (足軽, "light of foot") were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century,[1] but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.[2]
^Warriors of Medieval Japan, Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing, 2007 p.99
^War in the early modern world, Jeremy Black, Taylor & Francis, 1999 p.59
Ashigaru (足軽, "light of foot") were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century...
Muromachi period, large-scale group battles started in which mobilized ashigaru (foot troops) fought on foot and in close quarters, and yari, yumi (longbow)...
were worn both by foot soldiers, including the common soldiers known as ashigaru, as well as by the elite samurai and members of the shogunate, and in special...
who were vagabonds, the nobushi (野武士), who were armed peasants, and the ashigaru (足軽), who were temporarily hired foot soldiers, were not considered samurai...
were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei (warrior monks). The naginata is the iconic weapon...
close combat. During this period, the tactics changed to a group battle by ashigaru (foot soldiers) mobilized in large numbers, so naginata and tachi became...
expanded into a large-scale domestic war, in which employed farmers called ashigaru were mobilized in large numbers. They fought on foot using katana shorter...
District, and Izu Province was merged into the short-lived Ashigaru Prefecture in 1871. Ashigaru Prefecture was divided between Shizuoka Prefecture and Kanagawa...
to be used in wars. With the introduction of guns, a standing army of ashigaru (足軽, foot soldier) became essential to victory in war, making it impossible...
had no traceable samurai lineage, and his father Kinoshita Yaemon was an ashigaru – a peasant employed by the samurai as a foot soldier. Hideyoshi had no...
Oda of Kiyosu, and Nobunaga embarked his army 800 ashigaru armed with long spears and 500 ashigaru with arquebuses (which at that time were still new...
hara-ate to the back, appeared. During the Nanbokuchō period (1336-1392), ashigaru (foot soldiers) and conscripted farmers joined the fighting on foot, increasing...
Osaka Netherlands, and Robert Pepels of the Ashigaru Honbu Dojo Netherlands and founder of the Ashigaru Ryu style. Gordeau runs an International Karate...
armour (kusari kyahan or kyahan suneate); these were worn by foot soldiers (ashigaru) or by samurai as protection. Kyahan were worn by ordinary travelers as...
folding, portable armours for lower-ranking samurai and foot soldiers (ashigaru) were also produced. These were called tatami armour, and some featured...
peasant background, he rose through the ranks under Nobunaga, becoming ashigaru (足軽, infantry), samurai, sengoku daimyo, and finally, after Nobunaga's...
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