Ashigaru
Videos
Ashigaru were peasant infantry employed by the warlords of Japan to supplement the samurai in their armies. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikag
Ashigaru wearing armor and jingasa firing tanegashima (Japanese matchlocks)
A group of re-enactors dressed as ashigaru for a parade, as part of the re-enactment of the Battle of Sekigahara
Edo period print of ashigaru wearing mino (straw raincoats) in the rain while firing tanegashima (Japanese matchlocks)
Edo-period single-piece breastplate hara-ate dō. Lacquered iron plates with cloth back strap.
Tanegashima (gun)
Videos
Tanegashima, most often called in Japanese and sometimes in English hinawajū, was a type of matchlock-configured arquebus firearm introduced to Japan through the Portuguese Empire in 1543. It was used
Ashigaru using tanegashima from behind wooden pavises
Various antique tanegashima
Antique Japanese samurai tanegashima pistol