An army that is 5,135 men strong was divided thusly:
♦ Mounted warriors – 566
♦ Samurai on foot – 650
♦ Musketeers and archers – 320
♦ Pikemen – 3,519
♦ Short spears – 80
To get a better view of the samurai army, the question should be changed and should instead read: “What are the component parts of a samurai army?” Doing this shows the makeup of a military force in Japan. The following detailed list is taken from the Gunpo Jiyoshu military war manual of c.1612.
The Command Group
Musha Bugyo (samurai commander) – 1
Tactician – 1
Archers and musketeer commanders – 15
Flag commanders – 2
Foot soldier commanders – 4
Monomi scouts – 20
Secretaries – 3
Suppliers of weapons – 2
Drummer – 1
Bell ringer – 1
Conch shell blower – 1
Baton holders – 2
Spear commander – 1
Doctors – 4
Carpenter – 1
Total: 59
[Second group]
Standard bearers – 3
Flag bearers – 30
Archers – 100
Musketeers – 200
Shinobi [ninja] – 20
Non-mounted samurai – 60
Accountants – 5
Chefs – 2
Grooms – 30
Komono servants – 450
Laborers – 50
Spearmen – 130
Blacksmiths – 2
Arrow smith – 1
Bowyer – 1
Cordage maker – 1
Total: 1,085
[Third group]
Mounted samurai – 80
Ponies – 15
Total: 95
Note: Fourteen people attend each mounted warrior and they are as follows.
Helmet bearer – 1
Footed soldier – 3
Spear bearers – 2
Sandal carrier – 1
Grooms – 3
Servants – 2
Laborers – 2
The above is the estimate for a warrior of 500 koku.
Total mounted warriors: 154
Total retainers: 2,156
Packhorses of the lord – 50
Packhorses of the retainers – 350
Grooms for the above horses – 400
Grand total for this army is 3,796
It is extremely interesting to note that in the list, shinobi appear as being twenty in number. This would mean that on average there would be one shinobi for every 180–200 men of the force. These were openly hired as shinobi and were allotted a section of the camp. They would sleep during the day and work the perimeter at night, lead night attack squads and hunt out enemy shinobi.
An even more detailed list can be found in the Giyoshu manual written in 1690. It clearly describes the people taken on campaign or those who follow military armies:
軍奉行 Ikusa bugyō – Commanding officer
旗奉行 Hata bugyō – Commanding officer of the flags
幕奉行 Maku bugyō – Commanding office for the war curtains
鉄砲大将 Teppo daisho – Musketeer captain
弓大将 Yumi daisho – Captain of the archers
鑓大将 Yari daisho – Captain of the spearmen
鉄砲奉行 Teppo bugyō – Commanding officer for the musketeers
弓奉行 Yumi bugyō – Commanding officer of the archers
鑓奉行 Yari bugyō – Commanding officer of the spearmen
御旗本衆 On-Hatamoto shu – Direct retainers to the shogun
近習衆 Kinju shu – Close retainers
小性衆 Kosho shu – Pages
歩行衆 Kachi shu – Foot soldiers
歩行頭 Kachi gashira – Head or captain of the foot soldiers
近習横目 Kinju yokome – Inspector of the close retainers
歩行横目 Kachi yokome – Inspector of footed soldiers
小横目 Ko-yokome – Secondary inspector
惣横目 So yokome – General inspector
貝ノ役 Kai no yaku – Conch shell blowers
鐘ノ役 Kane no yaku – Bell officer
太鼓ノ役 Taiko no yaku – Drummers
大物見 O-Monomi – Large scouting groups
中物見 Chu-Monomi – Medium scouting groups
小物見 Ko-Monomi – Small scouting groups
使番 Tsukai ban – The lord’s messenger
軍者 Gunsha – Military strategist or military personnel*
御太刀奉行 On-Tachi bugyō – Protector of the lord’s sword
馬奉行 Uma bugyō – Horse management
具足奉行 Gusoku bugyō – Armor management
小荷駄奉行 Konida bugyō – Baggage train management
金奉行 Kane bugyō – Accountant
納戸役 Nando yaku – Property keeper
扶持奉行 Fuchi bugyō – Treasurer
数鉄砲奉行 Kazu Teppo bugyō – Commanding officer to those who hold the lord’s muskets
儒師 Ju shi – Master of Confucianism
目醫師 Meishi – Optician
外科付 Geka – Surgeon
金瘡 Kinso – Sword cut healer
易者Ekisha – Diviner
能書 Nojo – Scrivener (scribe)
歌道者 Kadosha – Poet
伯楽 Hakuraku – Horse veterinarian
筭勘者 Sankanja – Mathematician
馬惣横目 Uma so yokome – General inspector of horses
雨用意役 Ame yoi yaku – Those who prepare for rain
忍者 shinobi no mono – Ninja
水奉行 Mizu bugyō – Water management
井堀 Ido hori – Well diggers
石切 Ishi kiri – Stone quarrymen
鉄砲張 Teppo hari – Gunsmiths
弓師 Yumi sh I – Bowyers
矢師 Ya shi – Fletchers
金堀 Kane hori – Miners
漏刻 Rokoku – Water clock maintainer
博士 Hakase – Scholar of Onmyodo magic, astrology, calendars, etc.
兵法使 Heiho tsukai – Master of military skills
強力 Goriki – Load bearers
走態 Sotai – Runners
番匠棟梁 Banjo Toryo – Master builder
鍛冶 Kaji – Blacksmiths
惣賄人（マカナイ）So Makanai – Food supply manager
庖丁人 Hocho nin – Cooks
桶師 Oke shi – Wooden bucket makers
檜物師 Himono shi-hinoki – Cypress wood carvers
壁塗 Kabe nuri – Plasterers
猟師 Ryo shi – Hunters
鋳物師 Imoji – Metal casters
鎚屋 Tsuchiya – Hammer forger
具足屋 Gusoku ya – Armorer
瓦焼 Kawara yaki – Tile maker
屋葺 Yane fuki – Thatcher
舩奉行 Funa bugyō – Commanding officer of the naval forces
水主 Kako – Sailors
梶取 Kaji tori – Helmsmen
鷹匠 Takajo – Falconers
革屋 Kawaya – Leatherworkers
山伏 Yamabushi – Mountain priests
出家 Shukke – Monks
座頭 Zato – Musicians
繪師 E shi – Painters
白拍子 Shirabyoshi – Dancing girls
能太夫 Nodayu – Master of the Noh theater
塗師 Nushi – Lacquerer
紺屋 Koya – Dyers
油作 Yusaku – Oil makers
犬引 Inu hiki – Dog handlers
猿引 Saru hiki – Monkey trainers
舞 Maimai – Dancers
放下師 Hoka shi – Street entertainers
狂言師 Kyogen shi – Comical stage performers
磨屋 Togi ya – Craftsmen who sharpen blades
百姓 Hyakusho – Farmers
町人 Chonin – Townspeople
商買人 Shobainin – Merchants
穢多 Eta – Outcasts
The preceding lists bring the reality of the battle camp into the mind’s eye. Servants and grooms attend each samurai. Carpenters and blacksmiths are at work; accountants are looking after the army treasure under guard. The command group is in the command tent and the cooks are stoking the fires. The soft grass is turning to mud and on the hill behind the camp, the chi masters are watching the enemy camp for auspicious signs. Dogs raid the perimeter, while prostitutes follow nearby. Merchants try to sell their wares in the daytime. Nighttime brings drinking and gambling, which are sometimes subdued or restricted by the command group. The army is a living, moving machine that is medieval life on the road. When on the road or taking up position, the army must erect a jinsho—a battle camp.
Battle Camps
Often a samurai army is depicted on the open ground, ashigaru to the front with shields in front of them. Banners wave in the wind as the lord-commander sits behind his closest samurai. However, the jinsho is seldom considered. This is a portable camp made up of huts constructed on site with local material. Fences are made from bamboo or wood, and internal divisions made from curtains or treated paper. Outside the camp, watch fires are built, guards are stationed, and shinobi are sent into the wilderness around. Strict guards are kept, identifying marks are needed, and passwords will gain a man entrance. In the center of the camp, the lord’s command group meets to discuss strategy. On a nearby hill or at a relatively short distance away, the enemy are doing the same. Conch shells sound in the air, drums beat the time, gongs give signals. The chatter of men fills the air.
Aspects of a Battle Camp
There are basic items that will be familiar to those in these temporary camps and generally military manuals of the Edo Period display similar illustrations, giving us the basic elements that make up a campsite.
Watch Fires
In a typical watch fire, the walls are seven feet high, the fire front opens outwards so that light spills into the dark area away from the camp and allows the men behind the fire to remain in the shadows.
Fences
Fences are normally constructed of wood or bamboo in the fashions shown below. Sometimes double fences were constructed to stop infiltrators. Sometimes ditches were dug outside of the fences and filled with sand to show if any footprints had been left behind by shinobi.
Conch Shells
A common sound in a battle camp would be that of the conch shell. The system of use would change from camp to camp, but a samurai would expect that the camp would be awoken in a “call the hands” fashion, and then it would be “hands to breakfast” and “form divisions,” etc. The conch shell would sound out and gain a response from the men of the camp, depending on the arrangements made.
Drums
The times of the day and the beat of the war march would sound out from the drum. Japanese hours are called toki, and the day is divided up into twelve toki. Each is 120* minutes long and has a name, such as hour of the Boar, hour of the Dog, etc.—thus drums are used to measure time in the camp and to keep men in step when marching.
Watch Towers
A soldier in a camp may have to spend his watch up a watchtower; these may be placed around the camps to observe the local area. As can be deduced from the illustration below, these towers can be dismantled and moved to a new location.
War Curtains
Large sections of cloth reinforced with rope would be pitched vertically and set up to make barriers. Here different groups would be sectioned off and conversations kept private. Shinobi would be looking for small viewing ports in the cloth for when they sneak into camps to try to observe the command group. War curtains also have various esoteric associations.
Fake Walls and Spiked Traps
There are various traps around the camp—these can be pitfall traps laden with spikes, stones hung from ropes, fake collapsing walls and tripwires. Consider the external perimeter of the camp to be a maze of bamboo shields, bamboo bundles, walls, wires and traps.
The Setup of a Fortified Battle Camp
One important item that can be gleaned from Japanese military manuals is that camps are seldom alike and the way a commander sets his camp is often a telltale indication of the workings of his mind. The following example and translation is one of many—this one taken from the Gunpo Jiyoshi manual—and it highlights the thinking behind troop placement. Things to note in the image on the following page are the bamboo fence around the perimeter, which appears like crosshatching, and the placement of shinobi directly next to the command tent.
1. Two units of mounted warriors with captains, one mounted scout, twenty messengers, one unit of archers and one unit of musketeers with captains
2. One unit of mounted warriors, one unit of archers and one unit of musketeers with captains
3. Two mounted warriors
4. One unit of archers and one unit of musketeers with captains
5. Flags and bannermen
6. One unit of mounted warriors with a captain
7. Three units of mounted warriors including those with conch shell and drums
8. Close retainers with captains
9. Two units of mounted warriors with captains, one mounted warrior scout, ashigaru foot soldiers
10. Musha bugyo—commander
11. One unit of archers, one unit of musketeers, two units of mounted warriors with captains
12. One unit of messengers, two units of spearmen with commanders, one unit of archers and one unit of musketeers with captains, two units of mounted warriors with captains
13. Headquarters
14. Doctors
15. Domestic staff
16. Two units of mounted warriors with captains, one unit of archers and one unit of musketeers with captains
17. Shinobi group (ninja)
18. One unit of archers and one unit of musketeers with captains
The Yamaga-Ryu Bukyo Zensho of the 1650s goes on to outline the people who should be put in their own quarters, those huts for people who share the same profession. It is here that we see that shinobi no mono get their own billets, due to the fact that they would have to work throughout the night.
When setting up a military camp, the following people should be billeted in huts:
1. Catering overseers
2. The quartermaster
3. Those who prepare the lord’s meals
4. Doctors
5. Secretaries
6. Advisors
7. Monks
8. Carpenters
9. Craftsmen
10. Miners
11. Shinobi no mono (ninja)
12. Musicians
13. Swimmers
14. Cooks
15. Those who deal with supplies
According to Jinichi Kawakami, the following statement is found in Yoshitune-Ryu shinobi manuals and shows that shinobi, when they have time on their hands, should consider undertaking the following:
軍陣不断共謐時は、心を一入れ、強く張り詰め、物人数の上を遠目 に見て、油断透間を勘へ心懸る可き事
When you are in a battle camp and things are quiet, keep your mind attentive and observe your army from a distant position and consider the gaps and openings within.
The image of the Japanese battle camp should be one of a working community on the move. The smell of the latrines is thick in the air. The food is cooking, and the fire smoke rises. Huts and shelters would be in neat formations (if the commander is experienced) while the fences would be erected on soil banks. Signals and drums would sound out and orders would be given. Nearby a merchant train with gambling and prostitution would follow. Entry in and out of the camp would only be permitted with strict permission; and with the use of identifying markers/passwords. Fear of night raids would be constant and the sound
of the war cry before a raid would be dreaded. As night falls, fires and braziers would flare up. Guardsmen would change the watch. Shinobi or secret scouts would be sent into the area around them. They would smell the air for fuses and odors that give away ambushes; or listen for sounds of the enemy—as enemy shinobi move through the bush and forests. A samurai may be taking part in a night raid. They may be wetting paper and wrapping it around anything that jangles. They may also be tying up the horses tongue with string soaked in blood, ready to make them silent for the raid. All the while the enemy shinobi are watching; listening to this so that they can report back to their own allies. The military battle camp of Japan was a dirty, odor-filled environment, normally with strict laws and protocols in place. It was a society in its own right. Men within it, be they ashigaru foot soldiers, servants, or samurai could be away for months at a time.
The Samurai Castle
In the popular imagination, a European castle is dark and cold. It smells, and is set against the backdrop of a cliff above raging seas; while the rain and lightning crash down upon it. In contrast the Japanese castle is considered clean, quiet, whitewashed and is always set against a hot Japanese summer. Originally, Japanese castles were much smaller and many were set on clifftops and hills. Many were actually black in color. They were similar to their European counterpart in that they were filled with the normalities of castle life. This included horse muck, smoke from cooking fires, and the trappings of medieval life. So to correctly picture the Japanese castle: imagine an even blend between the gothic stone citadel on the hill and the pristine white palace-castle. At the end of the Sengoku Period, and into the start of the Edo Period, castle technology advanced greatly. This means that the castles of the generation before, those that were at the center of the wars, were different from the ones that people picture and visit today. The result is that we often place the wrong castle in the wrong time frame. The rule of thumb is that in the Sengoku Period there existed a greater number of castles, fortified manor houses, and building complexes. This includes temporary fortifications, mountain retreats, and heavily fortified monasteries. As the Sengoku Period was reaching its height in the later 1500s, castle technology made a massive leap. Castles became much bigger and more complex. Then, in the Edo Period, the shogun had the mountain and outlying castles destroyed. He forced all samurai to leave their ancestral fortified manor houses and move into castle towns—most of which were flatland castles. He removed any natural advantage of position, leaving us with the image of the grand castle with whitewashed walls in the center of major cities. This was not the norm in the warring periods. In the Warring States Period, castles would have been smaller than we know them now, and fortified houses and monasteries would have been bigger than the ones visited by tourists today.
Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique Page 5