"Mounted Samurai weapons" Topic

When, and how, did mounted samurai stop using bows on horseback and start "charging" (yes, i know this isn't a good word for japanese cavalry role) with yari spears? Also, were there any attempts to equip samurai as mounted arquebusiers or pistoleers?

For the second question, I have a vague memory of mounted troops with arquebuses, but given the nature of the weapon they operated more like dragoons, dismounting before firing. Maybe when reading about the 1615 Osaka campaign?

The samurai cavalryman switched from bow to spear as the size of the armies grew (Sengoku period) and the footsoldiers became increasing used for missile weapon and mass battle tactics. The role of the cavalryman had changed.

A samurai carrying a bow into battle in the late Sengoku was considered pretty anachronistic but there is at least one account of an 'old-timer' doing it.

I've not read anything about Japanese cavalry with pistols or arquebus, samurai or otherwise. Some samurai used arquebus but not very commonly.

The Tokugawa had a dragoon unit called "Teppo Hyaku nin Gumi". And the Takeda are usually given credit for switching to knight-style tactics.

The Tokugawa had a dragoon unit called "Teppo Hyaku nin Gumi"

First I've heard of that, very interesting.

When, and how, did mounted samurai stop using bows on horseback and start "charging" (yes, i know this isn't a good word for japanese cavalry role) with yari spears?

More or less after the Mongol invasions showed them the power of massed archery. So roughly 1300 or so.

Also, were there any attempts to equip samurai as mounted arquebusiers or pistoleers?

Can't say I've seen any Japanese-made teppo pistols. I don't think there was a concerted effort to arm samurai as mounted arquebusiers, though there was no small number of mounted samurai with an ashigaru 'groom' packing the samurai's teppo.

The thing is, the matchlock was introduced in Japan in the early 1540s, but by the 1560s or 70s Oda Nobunaga was fielding massed units of ashigaru predominantly armed with teppo**. There was never really a long period of time where the samurai were the predominant firearms users.

** Japanese teppo units are a bit odd by Western standards. There were 3-4 troops armed with matchlocks and 2-3 armed with bows to provide covering fire while the matchlocks reloaded.

Thank you for your answers! One other question: Is there any mention of mounted archer units during the 1540s – 1615 period?

I have seen pictures of Japanese matchlock pistols, for what's it's worth I believe Two Dragons has a figure of a mounted Samurai firing a pistol in 15mm!

I personally don't believe that mounted archers had faded away to nearly nothing by the end of the period. Would they have been declining in numbers, sure but I think there was still a tactical use for the bow and certainly some samurai would have been trained as a matter of pride. I know, my two cents and I can't back it up but it just doesn't feel correct to me.

David
kingsfordminiatures.org

Thank you for your answers! One other question: Is there any mention of mounted archer units during the 1540s – 1615 period?

Entire units? Not that I've seen any evidence for. However, like the teppo-armed samurai, there were lots of samurai who would have one of their ashigaru packing their bow (yeah, samurai had caddies). Not sure how many of the senior samurai actually used them, but they certainly brought the bows to the battlefield.

@Glengarry5: Huh. I stand corrected then.

So no speciallized horse archer units, is that correct?
Also, I've been reading some discussions about the use of cavalry during the sengoku period, and there seems to be some of the opinion that given their small horses, samurai cavalry were unable to charge, and would dismount to fight with their foot retainers. Does anyone knows if the primary sources mentions the cavalry fighting mounted?

From various diagrams and illustrations of mounted samurai tactics in Japanese books:

A mounted samurai supported by personal retainers on foot would be grouped together with others, forming the 'mounted arm' of a samurai army.

A mounted samurai were mostly armed with yari to engage in close combat with enemy infantry or other mounted samurai. Depending on the situation, they fought on horseback or dismounted to fight with the infantry. If fighting on foot a groom would hold on to the horse, ready to allow the samurai to remount and withdraw if needed.

Mounted samurai with their personal foot retainers grouped together could open the battle with a fierce charge, usually in a wedge or arrowhead formation.

In the Takeda Screen dismounted samurai supported by their foot retainers are positioned behind their infantry. Placed farther back are their horses and grooms. If the infantry falter during spear fighting, the dismounted samurai would move forward to plug the gaps and strengthen the line.

If the infantry succeed in holding the enemy infantry in place, mounted or dismounted samurai would sweep around the flanks to attack the enemy infantry in a pincer attack.

A mounted samurai supported by foot retainers armed with spear, bow and gun, would be well-trained to handle any of these weapons themselves. At Nagashino Tokugawa Ieyasu's mounted samurai acted like dragoons outside of the wooden fences, shooting from horseback with the teppo taken from their foot retainers. Ieyasu himself was armed with a teppo during rearguard action for Oda Nobunaga. At Mikatagahara Ieyasu armed himself with a bow to fight his way out.

In Taiga dramas showing the battle for Osaka Castle mounted samurai of Date Masamune are shown going into battle armed with teppo, even showing them charging into battle shooting from horseback. Woodblock prints and screens do show mounted samurai fighting with firearms. I have not been able to get my hands on a book with illustrations of Date Masamune's samurai fighting with teppo. With illustrations of dismounted samurai using their horses as gun mounts to steady their aim.

I should probably mention here that even the pre-1300s Samurai 'horse archers' weren't like the light horse archers of Europe or western Asia.

The o-yoroi "great armor" gives excellent protection against arrows but leaves the face completely unprotected, so the Samurai archer would get very close and shoot on a ride-by attack. Yabusame ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabusame ) is the name of the ritualized war-skill. Targets in yabusame are the size of the exposed face of a person in o-yoroi armor. 3 shots from the gallop, on 3 targets each roughly 8" square, over a 255m-long running track.

Granted, the shooting range is very short, under 10 yards, but still, that is NOT an easy shot!