Gunbai: Ancient Japanese Warfare

Sekiro ( 隻狼 ) : A Historical "Review" This is something definitely new for this blog; I'm going to talk about a videogame! And if you are not familiar with my content but you were looking for the review itself of the game Sekiro ( Fromsoftware, 2019) I want to be honest, you are not going to find a normal review below here. In fact in this post, I want to talk about the history and the context in which the game is set: Japan during the Sengoku period ( 戦国時代 ). To be fair, I know that it is a game and it supposed to have fantasy elements in it, but nevertheless it is a good opportunity to talk about the true history behind the setting and the aesthetic of the game itself. Sekiro is extremely bounded to some aspect of Japanese culture and if you are looking for those elements, especially the martial ones , this post is definitely for you. First of all , I have to say, I'm impressed. Besides the gameplay, the map design, the plot and characters involved in th...

Shichihode (七方出) - Ninja's Seven Disguises A group of travelling merchants during the Edo period; one of the famous Ninja's famous disguises. From a Hiroshige's Ukiyo-e Among the various arts and techniques a Shinobi  was supposed to learn, the Shichihode ( 七方出 ) was one of the most useful when it comes to infiltration and espionage. The Shichihode, which could be translated in " seven directions" ,   are useful disguises associated with particular professions or social class  used by various ninjas to travel unnoticed across the country in order to spy the others domains. The disguises are listed in the Shoninki ( 正忍記 ) , which was written in the late 17th century, when the Tokugawa Shogunate was in full control of the country and had a well developed spies network all across Japan; however, these disguises were likely  to be used in the previous centuries as well, especially during the Sengoku period, when war was at its peak. To better understand why...

Did Cavalry Existed in Japan? A Samurai charging with his horse, wielding a spear with both hands. Before reading, it is worth notice that the main purpose behind this article is to have a better understanding about the use of Cavalry Tactics   during the Sengoku period   and it is highly recommended to read this one in the first place. The mighty cavalry charge ; for any military history enthusiast, the image of horsemen charging into a cohesive formation is probably one of the most fascinating and heroic picture one could immagine. In any culture, horsemen were valued as élite members of the military , and sometimes even of the society when it came to knight and samurai. Having an horse, being able to fed it and ride it were all features of highly trained and rich warriors. When we talk about Japanese military history, there is no debate, it is quite evident that Samurai are almost universally associated with horsemen ; and for a very good reason. In fact, throug...