Samurai were soldiers who served as retainers to lords in Feudal Japan. Samurai existed from the late 12th century until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era.
A ninja or shinobi was an infiltration agent, mercenary, or guerrilla warfare and later bodyguard expert in feudal Japan. They were often employed in siege, espionage missions, and military deception. They often appear in the historical record during the Sengoku period, although antecedents may have existed as early as the 12th century.
Ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.
The term makibishi refers to the Japanese version of the caltrop. The tool (igadama) is a sharp spiked object that was used in feudal Japan to slow down pursuers and also was used in the defense of samurai fortifications.
The Battle of Sezawa was the first major battle fought by Takeda Shingen in his campaign to gain control of Shinano Province. He took on and defeated a coalition of Shinano daimyō including the leaders of the Suwa, Ogasawara and Murakami clans.
Anthony J. Bryant was an American author and editor. He worked in Japan for a period of time, and became an authority on medieval Japanese armor and samurai culture.
The 1547 Battle of Odaihara was one of a series of battles waged by Takeda Shingen in his long campaign to conquer Shinano province. In this particular encounter he was fighting the forces of Uesugi Norimasa, who was based in Echigo province but had decided to intervene in Shinano to prevent Shingen from overrunning the whole province. The Uesugi army attempted to relieve the castle of Shika, which Shingen had besieged, but were attacked and defeated at Odaihara on 19 September 1547.
In the history of Japan, ninja operated as spies, assassins, or thieves; they formed their own caste outside the usual feudal social categories such as lords, samurai, and serfs. Ninja often appear as stock characters in Japanese and global popular culture.
David C. Nicolle is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East.
Horses in East Asian warfare are inextricably linked with the strategic and tactical evolution of armed conflict throughout the course of East Asian military history. A warrior on horseback or horse-drawn chariot changed the balance of power between the warring civilizations throughout the arc of East Asian military history.
Kushima Castle, also known as Ōmura Castle from its location, is a Japanese castle located in Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.
Tateoka Doshun was purported to be a ninja from the Iga ikki during the Sengoku period. He is also known as Igasaki Doshun or Igasaki Dōjun (伊賀崎道順).
Bajutsu (馬術) is a Japanese form of military equestrianism.
Kura (鞍) is the generic name for the Japanese saddle. The word "kura" is most commonly associated with the saddle used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Over time the Japanese added elements of their own until the Japanese saddle became an identifiable style, also known as the samurai saddle.
The Battle of Muraki Castle was one of the first victories of the young Oda Nobunaga in his struggle to unite the province of Owari against the powerful Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose army had invaded the eastern parts of Owari.
Battle of Kiyosu Castle or Battle of Kaizu was the first victory of the young Oda Nobunaga in his struggle to unite the province of Owari against his cousin, Oda Nobutomo, deputy governor of southern Owari.
Battle of Ukino was the final victory of Oda Nobunaga in his struggle to unite the province of Owari against his cousin, Oda Nobukata, deputy governor of northern Owari.
The Iga ikki, full name Iga Sokoku Ikki, also known as the Iga Republic, Iga Confederacy, or Iga Commune, was a republic-style military confederation of ninjas based in Iga Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. One of the two major schools of ninjutsu, Iga-ryū, is attributed to, and takes its name from, this confederation. During the second half of the 15th century, the ninja families in Iga formed a military confederacy dedicated to the defense of the province. After centuries of rivalry with its northern neighbor, Kōka District in Ōmi Province, eventually Iga worked closely with in alliance with Kōka. In the 16th century, a constitution was drafted based on principles of mutual defense and voluntary association. The confederacy produced legendary figures such as Momochi Sandayu, Fujibayashi Nagato, Hattori Hanzō, Tateoka Doshun, and Shimotsuge no Kizaru. The activities of Iga eventually drew the ire of the Oda clan, who launched invasions in 1579 and 1581. The first invasion was decisively repelled by Iga, but the second overwhelmed the Iga forces and Oda Nobunaga viciously destroyed the confederation. Some ninja were spared and their activities allowed to continue. After Nobunaga's assassination in 1582, Iga and Kōka ninja entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants into the Tokugawa shogunate.
The Kōka ikki or Kōka Confederacy, historically known as the Kōka-gun Chūsō, was a military confederation and network of ninja in Kōka District in Southern Ōmi Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Kōga-ryū, one of the two major traditions of ninjutsu that survived by fleeing to the mountains, is named after the confederacy and attributes its origins to it. The confederation emerged in the 15th century when local "jizamurai" formed mutual defense and aid co-operatives. Local co-operatives together formed larger co-operatives, and all together at the district level. The armies of Kōka achieved fame in 1487 in the Battle of Magari, when they assisted the Rokkaku clan in defeating a punitive expedition by Ashikaga Yoshihisa. In gratitude for their assistance, the Rokkaku granted 21 prominent families from Kōka positions as retainers.
In the Sengoku period of Japan, the adjacent Iga ikki and Kōka ikki, self-governed military confederations of ninja families in the respective regions of Iga Province and Kōka District, frequently allied in mutual defense against outside military threats. The alliance is first attested in 1487 at the Battle of Magari. A constitutional document with an approximate date of 1560, and attributed to Iga, formalized the alliance between Iga and Kōka. Governance of the alliance, as specified in the constitutional document, constituted of 10 military commissioners (bugyo) from Iga and 12 from Kōka, who would meet along the border of the two ikki. The alliance of the two ikki was effectively terminated when Kōka surrendered to the forces of Oda Nobunaga on March 27, 1574.
