III/54 Early Samurai
Tuesday, 29. September 2009, 13:42:47
I've had these painted for a while, but I wasn't sure they were worth posting. The painting is average to poor, and I'm even less happy about the number of anachronisms in the army. To add a little bit of interest, I've put the list of historical errors after the fold--see how many you can find...
Here is the army arrayed: 4 stands of 3Cv, 3 stands of 3Bw, and 5 stands of 3Ax. I built the army principally as retainers of two Bu-ke (warrior houses): the Hojo family in blue (who ruled Japan during the Mongol invasion) and the Adachi family in red (a close ally of the Hojo)
The official army list offers the option of 3Bd instead of the bowmen, but I had picked up some painted archers earlier, and that saved time.
The army's striking force is, of course, the 4 stands of cavalry. I tried to copy the colors here from old Japanese paintings reprinted in Thomas Conlan's book State of War. Some of them seemed a bit odd, but it's hard to fault 14th Century sources.
The figures are from Lancashire Minis. I like the poses, especially the horses. They look much more active than most cavalry figures. They came in separate melee weapon and bow packs, two poses in each. The sculpting quality varies; some parts, like the armor, are well done, others are not, like the quiver, that disappears into a blob under the figures elbow (it took me a while to figure out what the blob was supposed to be).
Next come the 3 stands of archers. I don't know who makes these figures--they're sort of short and squat.
I bought them mostly painted, and just touched up a couple of things. Quick and easy, but not very satisfying.
Finally, the 5 stands of Auxillia. These were not a standing army of either family. Instead, each samurai that came to fight with the family (some would be related, some would be retainers, some would just be ambitious small-timers looking to make it big in battle) would bring a small group of followers/servants/peasants. Conlan's records of 14th Century battles show how the followers would often detach from their samurai and fight separately, even in different battles.
The Hojo retainers (with the Hojo crest on their Sashimono banners) are in blue.
The Adachi retainers are in red.
Tactically, Early Samurai are a fun army to play. They aren't as slippery as Mongols with their Light Horse, or as solid as Koryo Koreans (another historical opponent) with their ranks of Spears. On the other hand, the 5 stand of Ax means that they can exploit bad terrain like few others, and the Cavalry is fast, resilient, and has a decent quick-kill capability. The archers offer yet a different set of challenges and opportunities.
So, how many anachronisms did you spot? Click to see them below the fold.
Here is the army arrayed: 4 stands of 3Cv, 3 stands of 3Bw, and 5 stands of 3Ax. I built the army principally as retainers of two Bu-ke (warrior houses): the Hojo family in blue (who ruled Japan during the Mongol invasion) and the Adachi family in red (a close ally of the Hojo)
The official army list offers the option of 3Bd instead of the bowmen, but I had picked up some painted archers earlier, and that saved time.
The army's striking force is, of course, the 4 stands of cavalry. I tried to copy the colors here from old Japanese paintings reprinted in Thomas Conlan's book State of War. Some of them seemed a bit odd, but it's hard to fault 14th Century sources.
The figures are from Lancashire Minis. I like the poses, especially the horses. They look much more active than most cavalry figures. They came in separate melee weapon and bow packs, two poses in each. The sculpting quality varies; some parts, like the armor, are well done, others are not, like the quiver, that disappears into a blob under the figures elbow (it took me a while to figure out what the blob was supposed to be).
Next come the 3 stands of archers. I don't know who makes these figures--they're sort of short and squat.
I bought them mostly painted, and just touched up a couple of things. Quick and easy, but not very satisfying.
Finally, the 5 stands of Auxillia. These were not a standing army of either family. Instead, each samurai that came to fight with the family (some would be related, some would be retainers, some would just be ambitious small-timers looking to make it big in battle) would bring a small group of followers/servants/peasants. Conlan's records of 14th Century battles show how the followers would often detach from their samurai and fight separately, even in different battles.
The Hojo retainers (with the Hojo crest on their Sashimono banners) are in blue.
The Adachi retainers are in red.
Tactically, Early Samurai are a fun army to play. They aren't as slippery as Mongols with their Light Horse, or as solid as Koryo Koreans (another historical opponent) with their ranks of Spears. On the other hand, the 5 stand of Ax means that they can exploit bad terrain like few others, and the Cavalry is fast, resilient, and has a decent quick-kill capability. The archers offer yet a different set of challenges and opportunities.
So, how many anachronisms did you spot? Click to see them below the fold.
Here is what I noticed. If you see anything else, leave a comment!
1. The "archers" didn't have matchlocks for another 2-3 centuries.
2. Sashimono (back banners) weren't widely used before the 14th-15th centuries, at least a hundred years after this army.
3. Face-guards (you can see one on the samurai in the lower picture with the white moon on his helment) didn't appear until the early 14th century.
4.Speaking of the moon helmets, this was emblematic of Masamune Date, a famous samurai of the 16th century--even later.
5.The 50/50 balance of melee and bow among the samurai figures is unrealistic. Here is a chart from Conlon's book listing the types of wounds described in post-battle reports that minor samurai would file with high-class leaders in hopes of recognition.
You can see how the Bow was the weapon of choice, far outnumbering everything else put together. These figures, of course, are for roughly 100 years after the army I intended to paint, but according to Conlan, the bow was even more prevalent in the earlier period.
6. Check out the number of pike wounds in the 1300's. Pretty low, too low for the number of pike figures in the Ashigaru stands. The pike became popular much later, in the 1500s.
7. Contemporary Japanese horses were more like ponies, not the charging steeds pictured here. I like the figures and the poses, but they are ahistorical.
The bottom line is that all of these figures were made for a Late (1500 and later) Samurai army. Unfortunately, I needed a historical opponent for my Koreans and a friend's Mongols, so I made do with what I had on hand. They're still fun to push around, though.
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