Ashigaru 1467-1649

A richly illustrated study of the origins, recruitment, training, and combat of the ashigaru, a vital element of samurai armies.

The ashigaru were the foot soldiers of old Japan. Although recruited first to swell an army's numbers and paid only by loot, the samurai began to realise their worth, particularly with arquebuses and spears, until well-trained ashigaru made up a vital part of any samurai army.

Drawing on previously untranslated Japanese sources, Stephen Turnbull examines the orig...