Samurai Army Ranks and Command Structure 

"Let's invert our entire hierarchy just to confuse the enemy spies. 30,000 Generals and 1 private."

*Takes notes vigorously* Very interesting.

Takeda Nobushige (武田 信繁) once stated: "One's soldier should not abuse the enemy. 'Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon"

I've always thought samurai army ranks etc was a seriously underrated topic that is super interesting but gets almost no coverage at all. Thanks for making these vids man!

If you see this, I really want to thank you. I've been working on a project for a few months now that's about a somewhat generic fantasy world (Elves, Orks, etc) set in a world in the general WW1 era, and one of the more unique country ideas I had was a confederation of petty armies that secured a bunch of islands in a vital spot for human civilization, so I was using the samurai as inspiration for this country in general terms. I found your channel recently and its been a great help in finding new concepts for this country, which had previously been a point of frustration to figure out.

Could you do a video about the logistics of a samurai army or the training of ashigaru troops? The battles are of course interesting but training, equipment and logistics made the battles possible in the first place. Who would tend to the fields when the peasents were drafted? How did they return to their families and how long did they have to serve? How long and rigorous was ashigaru training and how did they maintain unit cohesion? How were the quantities of armor and weapons that were needed supplied to these (for the time) vast armies? Were weapons and armor "recycled" and reissued after the battle?

Do you know, how long I’ve been looking for something like this, for too damn long. Thank you for putting a massive headache for me to an end

This is an interesting topic. The basics of all armies are the same. But the titles, duties, and makeup of these armies is in constant flux. Standardization could not and did not occur until formalized states where established. Once this occurred traditions in how pick and maintain all segments of the state slowly develop. Armies are simply one part of this standardization. Even today ranks and scopes of duties exist in some militaries but not in others. Even though titles may be identical the authority and duties that go with the title are not exactly uniform in nature. This outline was as contextual as possible while still taking into account for the variations that are always present.

Watching this I can’t help wonder if more complex organizational structures were put in place in order to prevent consolidation of too much power beneath a diamyo, thus preventing family, friends, military underlings, etc from usurping the diamyo.

16:00 can you make one for Takeda clan? Ranks for Takeda clan could be interesting

I've always wondered about this but only had games and movies to learn from. Thank you.

as far as english language sources on the topic it seems like Turnbull is the only person outside of academia really writing on the topic -- there's so much of it written in Japanese but afaik very little has been translated.

It was also fascinating to learn that an important commander such as Kimata Morikatsu had a Hatamoto that flattered that of a Daimyo even if he served Ii Naomasa

Dude, I'm so happy I found your channel, cause I'm into stuff like that but never had access to the sources to learn that. Your stuff is a blessing for me.

Interesting. Packed with useful explanations.

In the book "Shogun" by James Clavell, it portrays the honor of Hatomoto being bestowed on those trusted enough to carry weapons in the presence of their liege lord. I'm sure there is more to the title, but it proffers some insight as to how one might have been in varying service roles, but were elevated to a particular level of trust.

I always wanted this video. Thank you very much . The video is amazing.

Thank you for all the vids u make dude. You are literally one of the only (intelligible) English speaking youtubers I can find who cover fuedal Japanese military history in depth, Metatron being the only other I can recall.

Just discovered your channel via the Nobunagas Ambition review, working through your vids right now and you definitely made a subscriber out of me! Really cool you're covering this part of history in depth. We don't see enough Japanese history youtubers

This is amazing! I have been trying to find something like this for ages!!! You made my day! Thank you so much for all your research!

Thanks homie I enjoy your videos 📹 always informative and entertaining

I wonder how the structure was during Imjin war as Hideyoshi army was basically "united" as one with the various Damiyo under his command. Would this be Hideyoshis "Tenka Fubu" that Nobunaga keep talking about?

Incredible work. Thanks so much for making this!

Would've love to see an Ikko Ikki command structure or other independent army groups, but I wasn't so lucky. But even so! This was extremely informative!

Another day another great video from the Shogunate

Thanks for the info and for the work you put into it.

Very helpful for the novel I'm writing. Thanks!

Awesome video! keep up the good work!

Another good one from the shogunate his videos are my stress busters during my walks !

This overview really goes to show the level of division within Japan in this period, where each daimyo's army was almost reflective of an independent state, with similarities due to the general cultural background and the nature of equipment and tactics, but many individual differences due to local practice and needs, much like, say, the differences between European armies of various nations across history.

Love these videos

This is going to be a good one

Great video! 意義深い動画ありがとう　楽しみました /// all my respect and best wishes! 参考になりました　Love & Create!

I love this video it saved me from sleepless nights thinking about how command structures work if this comment reaches you I would like to thank you for this channel and i have a question did samurai fight dismounted in the later sengoku period? did they fight in yari Squires or bowmen?

Very informative and well-researched video. It would be interesting to know to what extent these command structures changed going into the peaceful Edo Period and up to Japan's eventual modernization.

Great video!

Thank you 🙏🏾

Amazing video as always!! The content of this channel is pure gold for those who like japanese history. I really appreciate how you always try to bring accurate information to your subscribers, like a true historian. What do you think about making a video in the topic of seppuku? I really like this topic and I would love to hear you talk about this!

I think you did a great job.

Ooo can’t wait for the Samurai Navy next

That’s exactly what I was looking for

Great 👍

Samurai: "NOOOOOO!!!! YOU CANT JUST USE A LONG SPEAR AND EXPECT TO WIN!!!" Ashigaru: "haha spear go poke poke"

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE

Makes sense for Nobunaga to have taken army organization seriously. Say what you want about him, he was very good at this war thing.

@The Shogunate As always, I find your videos insightful, as well as informative. I had a slight question. Where did you get, or create your societal triangles? I’m trying to make one for my own personal notes, and no one else. Do you have a societal triangle for the Edo Period?

Don't mind me, just binging all the structure and weapon evolution videos for world building inspiration.

You should make a video about how budhdhism came from india to japan..and how samurais adopted it......lots of love from india🤗🇮🇳❤🇯🇵

Could you recommend any books on the military tactics of some lords from the sengoku period?

I'd love to see a video about Japanese cavalry. There isn't much information online.

Today, when we go out to eat Yakiniku, the person having chopsticks and cooking is called "Yakiniku-Bugyou". The same can be said on Nabe-ryouri, in that case "Nabe-Bugyou"

Could you cover the ashigaru recruitment process in one of tmyour future videos?

Me gustaría entender el ingles fluido para comprender más ampliamente el video, es una lastima, pero este canal encanta de todas formas

Do you know any source for Heian period armies? And/or Kamakura? Oh and thank you for this video, really interesting... tho I have never in contrary to hear from you an hour long documentary in this topic ;)

Now this is something I've actually been learning about in a book I've recently been reading and how critical the harvest of rice is to the supplies of an army is from a clans holdings and its vassals Oh wow, that's the book I'm reading right now by Stephen Turnbull 😂. I've also been learning about the Kashindan as well.

Interesting, it seems my extensive worldbuilding research, application, and playing tabletop strategy games made this video very easy to follow and retain. I actually made rough guesses as to how things worked up to this point that, I'm surprised, seems correct in broad principle. I can also see the few similarities to typical European armies, but noting I think such armies to that sort of scale were relatively rare compared to the constant fighting between warbands and power struggles in Japan. Strain on resources will do that. I applaud the wisdom (I assume the norm) for promotion and even upper leadership in an aristocratic type society for merit over bloodlines. This aspect of military culture is something much less frequent in Ancient and Medieval history (outside Roman and Byzantine Empire), to a degree even into Napoleonic Wars and WWI. So many horrendous blunders in epic wars can be attributed to clearly putting the wrong generals in charge. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would attribute this to the frequency of infighting and logistical-scale battles in these times of Japanese history, and what I assume is a dedication to study and practical application over religious casting of lots and prayers or political favoritism. Because losing meant a great deal was a stake with not as far to run or allies and neutral parties to call upon. The most interesting to me though was devotion of command to military unit types instead of the absolute command structure in most Western armies. I've played around with this concept before watching this video, but theoretically it would require a very tight-knit, reliable, and mobile messaging system and cultural cooperation and trust. I'm willing to bet Japanese warfare of the period(s) with so much emphasis on cavalry in a more collectivist society allowed for the swiftness and efficiency of this system. Might even be a reason the Japanese struggled with long-term expansion campaigns, because their armies would, in theory, not be structured for long distance conquest and independence of army sections necessary to operate. But when conditions are favorable it works wonderfully. Our modern militaries with such swift transportation logistics operate more closely on these principles meaning the Samurai were ahead of their time and leadership recognized the potential of modernizing come the 19th century and the advent of industrialization in the 20th century to become the most powerful entity in the Pacific. Adapting to whatever works in practicality on limited resources will do this.

Would it be possible to do a video highlighting the feudal structure of japan during the kamakura and ashikaga shogunates? I understand the shogun had his Daimyo, but I haven't been able to figure anything out below that.

Neat

I have a question where do you get all these traditional Japanese painting pictures from ?

@10:37 Conscripted foot soliders with spear bow or matchlock.... what about the sword they are holding in the image? Im curious about ashugaru swords like the loan sword unit in shogun 2

Greetings! I know this is a very late topic to talk about, but I saw this video and I thought of a more advanced way to explain this more clearly! I was wondering if you could talk about, the " Sonae" in Sengoku Jidai. Please contact this comment if you need more information!

4:45 / 9:40 / 12:09 - Were all major and minor officers of ashigaru units samurai or were there non samurai officers? How low or high did they go? How common was it? 7:16 - Wikipedia mentions ōmetsuke or oometsuke as lesser versions of metsuke, while not mentioning yokome. Are these the same as yokome? If not, how are they different? 11:35 - At the top it says all samurai had personal attendants. Do these include the lower samurai that were sometimes farmers and the like? Less relevant, in mid to late Edo, did lesser samurai ever decide to dip really low in the caste to merchant to make more money? Was it a big faux pas or was it relatively common in mid to late Edo?

The size of the shoulder pads was used as rank

Do you have a good resource for info about the Azai clan and Odani castle or its final seige?

So is there in info on the logistics of the Samurai armies? Since I find it intriguing that the samurai made radical improvements in their ability to conduct war, after foreigners either invaded or interacted with them throughout their history, and tactics and structures remain all well and good but none of that happens without supplies. And I sadly have found little or seen little on the subject. Like where they like the Romans or more like the Mongols? (Couldn’t think of a different comparison so, sorry)

With this Much bureaucracy already existing in the Military, was there a similar structure for diplomacy? Like the one where tokugawa declare loyalty to Toyotomi, were there separate people for Negotiations or that it was the kashindan which was involved in diplomacy as well?

It's kind of funny to me that in 1559 uesugi had appearently more flag bearers than gunners.

So this rank structure was generally the same throughout Japan right? Did it change based on size? And how large were most armies in general? These are very broad questions so if you could just briefly give some specifics I'll buy you a sake one day. The average u.s. army brigade today is 3-5000 soldiers strong. I'd guess the average lesser known daimyo would have several of these, correct?

That's all well and good, but can that army comp beat a Oda ashigaru rush?

This video reminded me of Kurosawa's Kagemusha. The night battle during the siege was pretty unique and interesting since it was shown in the POV of the commanders receiving reports and issuing commands. Since then I've been curious how Samurai armies work compared to European armies.

You forgot the NekoGuntai - the elite cat girl brigade every feudal army needed.

Finally

That's kind of how they did the taxes during the period not only was diamonds correcting their own version of taxes also how they ruled as well as well I mean culturally they're United but the system has been so fragmented that every time the diamyo have their own rules law

Shingen had some 24 generals... Taisho? how many troops did each general command? where there different levels of general such as major general and lieutenant general.

The "metsuke" was retained as a peacetime political office within the Tokugawa shogunate. When the shogunate sent a diplomatic mission to the US in 1860, a "metsuke" accompanied the ambassador, alarming the Americans who mistook the job for a spy. Eventually, the misunderstanding was resolved when someone familiar with Western history on the Japanese side explained that a "metsuke" was what the Romans would have called a "censor."

I may comment later but it would be interesting to see how you can still find Tang influences on this system. More on Sonae and Te could also be nice as it feels thay at least the sonae woud be the primary tactical unit in the sengoku period.

The more I look at it. The more I see that this is similar to what yakuza organization would look like.

Did you already make a video about specific formations, how they worked and against what other formations? I cannot seem to find one. Also: were these samurai formations or ashigaru formations? As far as a I speculate, there wasn't really a thing like "samurai formations"... but I'm not an expert. That would become a HUGELY interesting video.

The oda is a what I want to know about

I know more about the samurai then my Aztec heritage

👌

The different clans of japan might as well be different kingdoms each with a different regional culture and military tactics all while speaking the same language and worshipping more or less the same gods

When hideyoshi forbid non samurai from carrying weapons, does that mean he disbanded the ashigaru?

So I'm not sure if it's clear, are the leaders of the Ashigaru units (taisho, bugyo, and kashira) promoted Ashigaru or are they Samurai? Also are all Samurai mounted like their European counterparts? And I assume since Ashigaru literally means "foot soldier" there were no mounted units.

Was there a samurai equivalent of a squire?

I thought the concept of Fudai and Tozama were conceptualized by Tokugawa Ieyazu??

I am saving this video for future reference. One question: could this tendency toward structural flexibility have been partly the reason for the much later convoluted command structures and sometimes complicated war planning of the Japanese Imperial forces in WW2?

Is daimyo a vassal of the emperor?

I am just here for my narative driven camping in Shogun2

I want to know name of the cloak or jacket that some samurai officer wear, it is usually white with decoration, please help.

Just based on comments, views, and general engagement in videos related to historical Samurai and warfare details... it seems the public is far, far less interested in this compared to the same level of investment with similar European topics. This surprises me greatly considering how legendary and revered the Samurai are in pop culture and opinion by the common layperson compared to Knights and the Medieval or Renaissance Period. I wonder if the aggressive defenses that have come about by HEMA and Medieval enthusiasts in the past 2 decades turned the tables and the digging into Japanese history reveals cultures that aren't living up to what most expected to find. Or if there's less interest to research the affirmations of what is believed to be legendary and superior. Or both.

1:3 ratio between Samurai and Ashigaru? And to think, people kept emphasizing how the ashigaru were the mainstay of warfare... Turns out, the samurai were about a third of the forces. That means they were able to be basic squad commanders, and still had extra left over to form their own units.

You forgot one bugyô type: the famous bugyô-eyes. :B

Such militaristic Feudal Rank system must have some resemblance with Indo Aryan feudal sistem of Satraps/Saka in ancient era. I mean, the feudalism sistem came out from conquest and subjugation of new territories

how larg was one of this army under a lord. how mean horcemen & footmen in total. it sound like a modren army & lajesteks force behinde them. a army march on there food.

how many men are there withihn a kumi?

so Samurai with Teppo is Samurai who lead Teppo unit ? and samurai with Yumi bow is leading yumi archer unit

Would that have been an different than a medieval European army?

Number one thing you need to know, Samurai don't do melee combat on horses.

🇧🇷✌👍👍