"Dzhohyo monogotari" is also interesting because, in addition to the very detailed rules of conducting military operations, this book also shows us what the life of the Japanese army was like in the campaign at that time. Yes, it is clear that the army exists for battle. But most of the time, the soldiers don't fight. They drink, eat, mend their clothes, clean their weapons, sleep, go to the toilet, and do other things that cannot be counted. And at that time, for example, ashigaru was also responsible for the condition of the horses of the samurai, since it was the samurai who were the Japanese cavalry army. However, this did not mean that ashigaru could not have a horse.
Dzhohyo Monogotari contains beautiful illustrations that also give a visual representation of what is written directly in the text. For example, this illustration shows us ashigaru caring for their master's horse. Very well, in detail, all the equipment of the rider is shown. By the way, note that the same ashigaru jingasa helmet serves as a water tank.
The samurai themselves gave not too good horses to "their" ashigaru, and they perceived it as the mercy of the master. Besides, how else could they accompany him in battle? Therefore, they also learned to look after and ride horses. “When you are getting ready for a performance, have two people take care of the horse, and one in the meantime should be busy preparing its equipment. The first thing to do is to take the bridle, bit, reins and put them on the horse's head, then you need to properly saddle it and properly fasten the girth. There should be a metal ring on the left side of the seat. To it you attach a bag of rice, and to the same ring at the saddle on the right you attach a pistol in a holster. There should also be such rings on the back of the saddle and bags of soybeans and dried boiled rice should be attached to them, and a saddle bag should be attached to the front bow of the saddle.
In battle, ashigaru very often built such "fortifications": in front of the goats made of stakes, on them sheaves of straw, and behind shields of thick wooden planks. The arrows got stuck in the straw, and the bullets … the bullets slowed down and could no longer pierce the shields. Just like the European musketeers, ashigaru were built in two or three ranks. The first fired a volley and went to the rear, loading its teppo muskets, followed by a second volley, then a third again.
Always keep the horse tightly tied to prevent it from escaping. Then prepare the halter. To do this, take a leather strap and thread it through the bit. When you feed your horse, you can loosen the bit. You should be especially careful when driving. If the bit is too weak, then young horses may become agitated, as they feel free. Because of this, you can be defeated in battle, so your horse must be bridled tightly and submissively to your will."
Ashigaru for cooking rice. Drawing from Dzhohyo Monogotari.
… and the same plot of the work of a contemporary artist.
No soldier can fight if he is hungry. Therefore, the topic of food delivery by horse and with the help of porters in Dzhohyo Monogotari is considered in great detail: “You should not take food supplies with you for more than 10 days. If the hike is longer than 10 days, take pack horses with you and use them to deliver food. You can take a 45-day supply of food, but remember that one horse cannot be used for more than four days in a row. If you are on enemy territory or even on the territory of your allies, then remember that you should always be ready for anything. Today's ally may betray you tomorrow. And if you expect to get food from him, then you may be left empty-handed. There is nothing more stupid than getting food on the land of an ally by force, in this case, always have a supply of food with you, otherwise your actions may be regarded as theft.
I must say that it was not so difficult to feed the Japanese soldiers, especially in Japan itself. The sea was nearby, so if not rice, then, for example, mussels baked with bean curd could always fill his stomach. Although, of course, the modern table setting looks much more beautiful than the one that ashigaru could have at that time.
Store food for horses in a place prepared in advance on your territory when you make forays into enemy territory. Do not throw anything there, and if you yourself are suffering from hunger, then do not forget to feed the horses. A well-fed horse will take out a hungry rider. A hungry horse will not be able to take out a well-fed rider. Therefore, feed your horses plant-based foods. They can even eat fallen leaves, and if you cook it, then peeled pine bark.
But this is a delicacy - jellyfish in soy sauce. They could eat asigaru as much as they wanted.
Dry firewood in war is just as important as dry gunpowder, and it must be borne in mind that they need 500 g per person per day, and then you can make a big fire out of them. If there is no firewood, you can burn dry horse manure. As for rice, 100 g per day is enough for a person, salt needs 20 g for 10 people, and miso (sauerkraut made from soybeans and rice) - 40 g for 10 people. But if you have to fight at night, the amount of rice needs to be increased. You can also eat rice, which the servants in the houses keep for making sake."
Eggplant stuffed with pork is fu-fu, while no self-respecting Japanese would eat that. But today it is the most common dish for them.
Ashigaru bags of rice were carried both on pack horses and on small two-wheeled carts, which were either pulled or pushed by vakato porters. Large carts pulled by bulls were rare. They were usually used to transport heavy weapons. At the same time, the Japanese carried only the trunks themselves, and did not use carriages, as such.
Ashigaru was used not only in battle. Here is a drawing by a modern artist, in which it is the ashigaru that is activated by a Japanese throwing weapon capable of throwing such a terrible-looking gunpowder bomb into the enemy's fortress.
The book also gave such very "entertaining" advice, for example: "If the campaign is dragged on and is being conducted on enemy territory, then you can resort to robbery. Moreover, "Dzhohyo monogotari" also specifically indicates how to properly commit robberies while on enemy territory: in the teapot. When supplies are buried in the ground, then in the early morning you need to go around the house in the fresh frost, and in those places where hidden things are buried, you will not see frost on the ground and you will easily find everything you need. " But ashigaru foragers must remember that enemies can leave dangerous traps and beware. “The blood of a dead person can be used by enemies to poison the water you drink. Therefore, you should never drink water from wells that you find in enemy territory. Poison - for example, the corpse of an animal, can lie at the bottom, and so that it does not float up, a heavy stone can be tied to it. Therefore, it is better to drink river water. If you are in a camp, you should drink water from a container in which apricot seeds wrapped in silk lie at the bottom. Another good way to keep the water clean is to put a few snails that you caught in your area and dried in the shade in a pot or vessel. This water can be drunk without fear. During a siege, water is of particular importance. Thus, during the siege of Akasaki in 1531, 282 soldiers left the fortress and surrendered, only because they did not have water and were literally dying of thirst."
Ashigaru armor was the simplest and cheapest. They were called so - okashi-gusoku, that is, "borrowed armor." For example, a karuta-kabuto helmet for those was made of plates connected by chain mail.
Karuta Kabuto Top View.
When the Chokoy fortress was besieged in 1570, the besiegers managed to cut off the garrison from the water source. Dzhohyo monogotari describes the consequences: “When there is no way to find water, the throat turns into a dry lump, and death occurs. Therefore, when distributing water between soldiers, one must remember that a person needs 1.8 liters of water every day."
Chochin-kabuto foldable helmet. Actually, this is a helmet for a samurai, but … very poor. The poor samurai had a better chance of being killed, and thus his helmet might well have fallen into the hands of some lucky ashigar.
Another Edo-era chochin-kabuto helmet.
But this simple-looking helmet could hardly get the ashigaru, since it belonged to an officer of a fairly high rank. After all, it was made of … 62 metal strips, which were very difficult to connect. Accordingly, the price of such a product was also high. That is, it was just that very refined (and expensive!) Simplicity that the samurai valued very highly.
In addition to purely military duties, the ashigaru had to carry flags. Judging by what Dzhohyo Monogotari says, the most common of these was the Nobori, whose shaft was made in the shape of the letter G.
(To be continued)
