Historical Background

Historical Background

The Sengoku Jidai 1497-1615

In 1467, as a result of the disintegration of power within the ruling Ashikaga Shogunate, there began a series of wars that would herald in a new Era - the Sengoku-Jidai (The Age of the Country at War, 1467-1615). The initial war was to be known as the Onin War and was to last 10 years. The fighting began initially in the streets of the capital city - Kyoto - but was soon to spread into the provinces where established Daimyo (Feudal Warlords) were to crush each other into pieces and where new clans would rush to fill the power vacuum... by whatever means necessary. Japan in this period basically saw the eroding of any centralisation that had hereto existed after the initial establishment of the Shogunate under Minamoto Yoshitsune in 1184. The country effectively became a number of petty kingdoms controlled by Daimyo and their private armies. These Daimyo constantly fought each other and this was, as such, the most militaristic period in Japanese history since the Gempei wars (1160-1184) and was to be until the Meiji period (1868-1912) and Japans rapid Westernisation process and introduction into the world scene. During this period, then, Japanese warfare developed into its most advanced state. The most important changes in warfare were as follows (and are not mutually exclusive):

1) The introduction in 1542-43, by the Portuguese, of firearms. Gunpowder had existed in Japan before that period (via Japan) and there is evidence to suggest that some Japanese armies had used weapons of that sort; they were, however, primitive compared to the (relatively) sophisticated European models (a la the pistol and rifle). There was some resistance to the use of the weapons by some more noble daimyo but, very soon, every army was armed with guns and where using them in the vanguard of their armies (as opposed to mounted Samurai, see below). Anybody interested in the above should research the battle of Nagashino, 1575, which pitted Nobunaga Oda against Takeda Katsuyori and saw the famous Takeda's Samurai Cavalry destroyed by Ashigaru (see below) carrying firearms.

2) The use of Ashigaru. This was an extended period of war and a finite group of professional warriors (Samurai) so something had to be done. Combined with the general lawlessness of the period and you have the recipe for Ashigaru. These were soldiers used in armies not of the Samurai class. They were armed and trained in various degrees by their Daimyo (the term Ashigaru translates to Light Feet because of quantity (or lack thereof) of Armour that they were equipped with)... by the end of the period most lords were doing both fairly well as their role was now an important one - Ashigaru were the mass of an army and the firearm carriers.

Combine 1 and 2 above and you have a decrease in the traditional method of Samurai combat. There was less and less single combat between noble warriors, more mass combat more often than not against some faceless non-Samurai; the use of the sword on foot became the norm for Samurai as opposed to mounted archery and spear wielding. Thus expertise with the sword became more highly prized than it ever did before in Japanese history, and adepts at its use were actively sought by Daimyo for employment and students for instruction.

The Sengoku-Jidai period came to a close with the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa Ieyasu (through his predecessors Oda Nobunaga then Toyotomi Hideyoshi) effectively after the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. There was to be a few of more battles fought until the period official came to an end after the Summer Battle of Osaka in 1615 when Hideyoshi's son, Hideyori, was to commit Seppuku, therefore leaving the Shogunate with no rival strong enough, military or right-wise, to challenge its hegemony. After a short while - when no wars were directly on the horizon - the Daimyo began to cut down the size of their armies, for they were of no immediate use, so a large number of warriors, both Samurai and Ashigaru, found themselves no longer employed. What did they do to survive? Some returned to the fields and became farmers, some went to the cities and found jobs there (or whatever persuasion), some even became bandits. A few of these men actively kept practicing their warrior skills, either by setting up their own Budo school, or by traveling the road attempting to perfect their skill in actual combat - by actively seeking out opponents - possibly more skillful - and defeating them. Beating a famous warrior in a duel could mean instant fame, honour, perhaps even solicitation by a Daimyo for a position (sometimes a Budo teaching position).