Hatamoto: Samurai Horse and Foot Guards 1540-1724

Each great samurai warlord, or daimyo, had a division of troops known as the Hatamoto, 'those who stand under the flag'.

The Hatamoto included the personal bodyguards, the senior generals, the standard bearers and colour-guard, the couriers, and the other samurai under the warlord's personal command. Apart from bodyguard and other duties in immediate attendance on the daimyo, both horse and foot guards often played crucial roles in battle. Their intervention could turn defeat into victory, a...