Army Lists Land of the Samurai Contents Yayoi Japanese 500 BCE to 250 CE Yamoto Era Japanese 251 to 790 CE Emishi 400 to 802 CE Heian Japanese 794 to 1179 CE Sohei Monks 980 to 1550 CE Kamakura Samurai 1180 to 1335 CE Muromachi Samurai 1335 to 1500 CE Muromachi Peasant Uprising 1428 to 1441 CE Ikko Ikki 1477 to 1580 CE Sengoku Japanese 1500 to 1585 CE Nobunaga Japanese v03 1540 to 1582 CE Takeda Japanese v03 1560 to 1575 CE Version 2020.03: 2nd May 2020 © Simon Hall Creating an army with the Mortem et Gloriam Army Lists Use the army lists to create your own customised armies using the Mortem et Gloriam Army Builder. There are few general rules to follow: 1. An army must have at least 2 generals and can have no more than 4. 2. You must take at least the minimum of any troops noted and may not go beyond the maximum of any. 3. No army may have more than two generals who are Talented or better. 4. Unless specified otherwise, all elements in a UG must be classified identically. Unless specified otherwise, if an optional characteristic is taken, it must be taken by all the elements in the UG for which that optional characteristic is available. 5. Any UGs can be downgraded by one quality grade and/or by one shooting skill representing less strong, tired or understrength troops. If any bases are downgraded all in the UG must be downgraded. So Average-Experienced skirmishers can always be downgraded to Poor-Unskilled. Where allies are allowed, they must conform to the following rules: 1. They must be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 UGs. 2. They must take enough UGs to get them to at least 50% of the minimums in the list being used. 3. They can thereafter take any troops up to the maximum to create the rest of the allied contingent. 4. Unless specified in the notes, the general must be the same type as the army commander in the main list but cannot be legendary. Usually this results in 1-3 UGs being compulsory and you having full flexibility on the rest. Where an internal ally is allowed, and no contingent is specified they must conform to the following rules: 1. They must be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 UGs. 2. The total number of troops taken of each type in the entire army must not exceed the maxima for that troop type. 3. They must take enough UGs to get them to at least 50% of the minimums in the list if there is enough allowance for a UG after the core army itself has taken the minimum. For example: An army has 4-12 cavalry (UG size 4,6) and 18-32 spearmen (UG size 6,8,9) as compulsory troops with 2 internal allies. The core army must take 4 cavalry and at least 18 spearmen. The first ally must take 4 cavalry and at least 9 spearmen. The second ally must take 4 cavalry but cannot take the 9 spearmen as this would exceed the 32 spearmen limit for the army. 4. They can thereafter take any troops up to the maximum to create the rest of the allied contingent. Usually this results in 1-3 UGs being compulsory and you having full flexibility on the rest. As a courtesy to your opponent, when you deploy your troops you should describe it fully; type, training, quality, protection, melee weaponry, shooting skill and weaponry, characteristics and which ally if appropriate. You should also explain how any unusual troop types in your army function and any special rules including Stakes, Caltrops, Barricades and Obstacles and troop types such as Battle Wagons. Version 2020.03: 2nd May 2020 © Simon Hall Historical Introduction The prehistoric or Jōmon period of Japan spans from at least 12000 BCE. At some point between 1000 and 800 BCE agriculture started to take over from hunting and foraging. Bronze, and later Iron, weapons and tools were imported from China and Korea. These new ideas came with migrants from the mainland. This change was accompanied by an increase in both the stratification of society, tribal warfare and moated fortifications. Gradually Japan was unified into a single kingdom. The centre of the unified state was Yamato in the Kinai region of central Japan. The rulers of the Yamato state were a hereditary line of Emperors who still reign as the world's longest dynasty. The rulers of the Yamato extended their power across Japan through military conquest, but their preferred method of expansion was to convince local leaders to accept their authority in exchange for positions of influence in the government. Many of the powerful local clans who joined the Yamato state became known as the uji. These leaders sought and received formal diplomatic recognition from China, and Chinese accounts record five successive such leaders as the Five kings of Wa. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 538 CE and has co-existing with Japan’s native Shinto religion. The official name for Japan, Nihon, also originated at this time. The Yamoto era is often subdivided into three periods, the Kofun period (c. 250 to 538), the Asuka period (538 to 710) and the Nara period (710 to 794). In 645 the Sogo clan was overthrown by the Fujiwara clan. Their government devised and implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms. The reforms nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation. Subsequently, the Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between two rivals to the throne, became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code, which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central government and its subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. In 794 the capital was moved to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto), which remained the capital until 1868. During the early Heian period, the imperial court successfully consolidated its control over the Emishi people of northern Honshu. Throughout the Heian period, the power of the imperial court declined. The nationalization of land undertaken as part of the ritsuryō state decayed as various noble families and religious orders succeeded in securing tax-exempt status for their private shōen manors. By the eleventh century, more land in Japan was controlled by shōen owners than by the central government. In response, the owners of the shōen set up their own armies of samurai warriors. Two powerful noble families, the Taira and Minamoto clans, acquired large armies. The central government began to employ these two warrior clans to help suppress rebellions and piracy. A new class of slaves composed of poor farmers, debtors, and criminals sold into bondage grew during this period. By 1051, members of the Abe clan, based in northern Japan, were openly defying the central authority. The court recruited the Minamoto clan whom they defeated in the Former Nine Years War. In the Later Three-Year War, Fujiwara no Kiyohira rebelled and the Northern Fujiwara controlled northern Honshu for the next century. Version 2020.03: 2nd May 2020 © Simon Hall In 1156, a dispute over succession resulted in the Taira clan led by Taira no Kiyomori defeating the Minamoto clan. The struggle between both clans led to the Heiji Rebellion in 1160. In 1180, Taira no Kiyomori was challenged leading to the four-year Genpei War between the clans. The victory of the Minamoto clan was sealed in 1185 at the naval battle of Dan-no-ura who then became de facto rulers of Japan. This introduced the Kamakura period. The Kamakura period introduced military rule or shogunate, government headed by a shogun. This remained largely the situation until 1868. The regime which was established was decentralized and feudalistic in structure. Vassals could maintain their own armies and to administer law and order in their provinces on their own terms. In 1221 there was a rebellion, known as the Jōkyū War, to restore political power to the court but it failed. The shogunate further consolidated its political power. The samurai armies of the whole nation were mobilized in 1274 and 1281 to confront two full-scale invasions launched by Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire. The Japanese fought the Mongols to a standstill in Kyushu on both occasions until the Mongol fleet was destroyed by typhoons called kamikaze, meaning "divine wind". In 1333 the Kamakura shogunate was overthrown. When Emperor Go-Daigo refused to support Takauji, the general captured Kyoto and installed a rival member of the imperial family. Go-Daigo responded by fleeing to the southern city of Yoshino, where he set up a rival government. This ushered in a period of conflict between the Northern Court and the Southern Court until 1392. Meanwhile the feudal lords, called daimyōs, had increased their power. During the 15th century the country descended into another, more violent period of civil war. This started in 1467 when the Ōnin War broke out over who would succeed the ruling shogun. By the time the succession was settled in 1477, the shogun had lost all power over the daimyo. In 1543 a Chinese ship carrying three Portuguese traders was blown off course and landed on the Japanese island of Tanegashima. Soon European traders would introduce many new items to Japan, most importantly the musket.