Basic Unit Statistics
| Recruitment Cost | 750 | |
| Upkeep Cost | 200 | |
| Melee Attack | 6 | 18% |
| Charge Bonus | 10 | 28% |
| Bonus vs Cavalry | 0 | 0% |
| Range | 150 | 23% |
| Accuracy | 30 | 33% |
| Reloading Skill | 15 | 16% |
| Ammunition | 20 | 40% |
| Melee Defence | 2 | 5% |
| Armour | 4 | 50% |
| Morale | 10 | 25% |
| Speed | 10 | 83% |
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Can harass enemies and keep their distance but poor in melee.
- Able to fire then reposition, they are difficult to pin down. They should also avoid concentrations of enemy missile units.
Requirements
- Required Buildings:
- Required Resources:
Description
With both hands occupied by aiming and firing a bow, these men must use their knees to control and steer their mounts. Japan has a long tradition of mounted archery and these troops remain invaluable despite the introduction of gunpowder. Matchlocks may be powerful, but they are also unreliable and inaccurate, and the ashigaru who use them simply lack the skills and mobility of mounted samurai. These cavalry archers can quickly move to the flanks of an enemy, or harass the enemy at a distance. If caught in melee, they have enough training to defend themselves, but they should avoid fighting spearmen or heavy cavalry. The introduction of arquebuses in the Sengoku Jidai threatened the Japan’s ancient tradition of mounted archery. Guns meant that a daimyo could bolster his army with large numbers of arquebus-armed ashigaru rather than relying on the skilful, but less numerous, samurai. Fortunately for the samurai, horse archery was too important a tradition to die out, and the art survived. For training, they would shoot at corralled dogs, or at wooden targets while speeding along a set course. The latter training method, called ‘yabusame’ is still practiced today at special demonstrations for visiting dignitaries, and participation is considered a great honour.