History fanatics, help!

[Koga No Goshi]

I really need this information, but have (perhaps not surprisingly) not been able to find *anything* but the vaguest possible info on English websites. So any of you who own books about Japanese military history and what not, please answer this question.

Can anyone tell me (the original Japanese names are preferrable) the names of the various ranks within samurai armies, from the daimyo down to the foot soldier? It doesn't have to be 100% but if you know a lot of the rank names and how they approximately relate to each other, it'd be a big help. Something like what corresponded to geneal, field commander, captain, etc. etc.

Thanks very much for any help,


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Koga no Goshi

"Insolent Horses!!!!"

[theforce]

Hmmm are you thinking of making a new clan and put want them to put those ranks to your members? http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
Getting warm... http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/tongue.gif


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Don't use only honour, use theforce, too.
http://lod.fateback.com

[Anssi Hakkinen]

Part of the reason you found none is that the Sengoku armies really didn't have such a strict hierarchy than one would find in a Western army (of any age after Rome). The word "warband" used to translate the word for a clan's military, tenka, is really pretty accurate. The armies were a collection of retainers, all who could come, who had their personal troops and their own retainers, who in turn had their own armsmen, etc. Ranking in a lord's army was pretty much determined by one's relation to the liege lord.

However, for some related terms, look at the vocabulary section (http://samurai.bigsitecity.com/vocab.html) of the Samurai Archives (http://samurai.bigsitecity.com). Also, here (http://www.skalman.nu/third-reich/axis-jp-army-ranks.htm) are the ranks that were later taken into use in the post-Meiji restoration Imperial military modelled after the Prussian army (compared with the equivalent German ranks).

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"It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."
- Joseph Goebbels

[FwSeal]

Here are a few broad terms. Each family seems to have had their own nomenclature, but these are at least generally well-known...

Daimyo - Head of the clan (of course)
Gun-bugyo - Roughly translated, chief of staff (lit. Army Commissioner).
Taisho - General. Not exactly the same as we think of a general, more a description of the retainer's function in the army. There could be various grades of taisho, from 'great' taisho (SORT of like a division commander, in that they might preside over a section of the army in battle or over a given camp during a siege) to Ashigaru taisho (a leader of ashigaru).
Monogashira, Bansho - 'Captain', sometimes used to describe men who commanded ranks of men, for example, ranks of teppo (teppo-monogashira).
Tsukai-ban - Messangers. There were normally two types of these, armored (samurai) and unarmored (typically ashigaru - or lower - types).
Samurai
Ashigaru
Gennin - Attendants to samurai, who tended their equipment, horses, ect...
Fumaru - A term sometimes found to describe laborers.
Chugen - A generic term often used to describe porters and other members of the supply train. Chugen is also used at times to describe ashigaru.

[Koga No Goshi]

Doumo arigatou gozaimasuyo! That's a huge help bud. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif




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Koga no Goshi

"Insolent Horses!!!!"

[Yoshitsune]

What I always find interesting is that *before* the rise of the semi-private samurai clans as the main military force of Japan, there was an Imperial army with a strict organisational heirarchy modified from T'ang Chinese principles. Strangely it was abandoned as less efficient than the loose warbands.

'Daiki' or colonel commanded a Gundan or regiment of 600-1000 men.
'Shoki' or lt.colonel served as second-in-command
'Kyoi' or warrant officer 1st class commanded a 200 man unit.
'Rosochi' or WO 2nd class commanded a 100 man unit.
'Taisho' or WO 3rd class commanded a 50 man 'tai' or company - the fundamental tactical unit.
Companies were split into 10 man 'ka' (campfire). Ka were split into 5 man 'go' (squad).
Each 'tai' also had two of those O-yumi crossbow thingies that have caused so much discussion. The troops were mainly infantrymen although the officers were horse archers. Interesting that 'Taisho' originated as a mere company commander of 50 men.

Anssi, do you know when the word 'tenka' was mainly used? I also came across the word 'ikusa' as a translation of 'warband' from Karl Friday's 'Hired Swords'.
'Bushidan' seems to be a modern term only.




[This message has been edited by Yoshitsune (edited 07-10-2001).]

[FwSeal]

One aspect of the daimyo hierarchy, and by extension, the army, was that there was sometimes a man who was held as, basically, a 'second in command'. Under Takeda Shingen, this was Takeda Nobushige. After Nobushige's death in 1561, some have reported that Naito Masatoyo was considered the second man in the Takeda clan, at least for a time (an interesting choice, perhaps), though he was of course not considered an heir.