Social makeup of the army
The Kenmochi
The Kenmochi are the warrior class of the
Heptarchy of Saiko. Just like the retainers of many other nations, they are generally sworn to a lord of the nobility, bearing a title that signifies their station within the warrior class, gain land from their lord and have their titles pass in a hereditary fashion.
The Ashigaru
The Kenyachinic System
All warriors, both Kenmochi and Ashigaru were organisesd societally through the
Kenyachinic (literally. sword rent)
system, since the Heptarchy is a most decentralised of nations the exact manner changes from domain to domain, yet a general form can be sketched.
In general, most warriors were free farmers with land that would be granted to the warriors by their respective lord, where ashigaru would normally gain 1 ryo worth of land and a kenmochi would gain land worth 3 ryo. Yet where the kenmochi could pass that land over from father to son without any trouble, an ashigaru would need to gain permission to do so.
In theory, a lord could levy all of his troops, yet to avoid depleting the land of all of their farmers, this was extremely rare. Instead, the Kenyachinic system divides the total amount of troops in several numbered groups called the Sābisu-bangō, or Service Number, with each group serving a single year in a cycle. The exacty number of groups in the cycle was dependant on manpower needs, yet between 3 and 6 was most common.
While in active service, a warrior would be paid monthly, although the amount would vary greatly both from place to place as well as for each social class and speciality. While a simple ashigaru infantryman could expect anything from 1 to 3 gold bu per month, kenmochi infantry could be paid that tenfold, with the most well earning positions within the armies being those of the kenmochi cavalry forces, rare as they were, who could expect three score bu every month with regular bonuses.
The Kumi
The smallest organisational unit of the Saikoan armies was the kumi. Consisting of men from the same village or neighbourhood, these men were usually friends and family members of one another and were categorised per armament and general role. This way some villages were bow oriented, while others were spear oriented, making logistics in peace time easier. Since the amount of men levied from a community was dependant on manpower needs, there is no upper or lower limit to the size of a kumi, yet between 10 and 20 was average.
The different types of kumi were:
- Teppo-gumi: These were the ashigaru troops armed with firearms of various types.
- Yumi-gumi: These were the ashigaru bow troops. To grant suppressive support for the gunners, they are often deployed mixed with the teppo-gumi.
- Nagae- or Otyon-gumi: These were the pikemen and hoplites respectively. They were often used in tandem, with pikemen taking place behind a row of hoplites.
- Kiba-tai: These units were the Kenmochi cavalry and their direct retainers, so it was a mix between cavalry and heavy infantry.
No distinguishment between mounted units and their retainers is made so is hard to guess how the average ratio horseman/retainers was. Yet due to the rareness of horses on Saiko generally eastern armies had a higher ratio of mounted warriors than their western counterparts.
- Hata-gumi: These were the standard bearer; although they didn't partecipate in the fight as other units, they were essential for the communication.
- Konida: Logistic units; they had pack horses, several gears used in the campaign but also monks, priests, mages and administrators. They were usually found in the headquarter, the Honjin sonae.
Although kumi could be made up of both ashigaru and kenmochi, generally the kenmochi would spread themselves over the army, as kenmochi served primarily as officers for ashigaru troops.
The Sonae
The troops were reorganized and re-arranged in Sonae, or Tactical Units. Often consisting of between one and three score kumi, the Sonae functioned as a small army that could operate alone. The leader of the Sonae, the Taisho, was expected to lead his Sonae from the center.
Multiple sonae were led by the Soutaisho which was the commander in chief.
In this case, the main sonae led personally by him was called the Honjin. In the others sonae, an inspector called Metsuke was there to establish the military behavior of the taishou, reporting to the Soutaicho the military deeds of that sonae.
Formations
In battle, the would form itself in a large variety of different formations. What sets most of these formations apart from those used by foreign continental armies is the fact that they often prioritised flexibility and reserves above nearly anything else. Often only a fifth of the army was deployed on the frontline, with the rest guarding against flanking manoeuvres, or carrying them out on the enemy.
A consequence of the mountainous terrain of Saiko is the fact that units were often deployed in very thin lines, only 2 or 3 rows deep. This way every man could better watch the terrain and prevent himself from stumbling, which would be a death sentence in battle. An exception lies in stationary defenses like fortifications and mountain passes. Then the formations would be as tight as the terrain allowed for it, with especially pikemen and hoplites adopting formations that would not look dissimilar to those used by the
Argothengan Elves 3000 years ago.
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