Were ashigaru samurai?

No. Ashigaru were below the samurai class in the social hierarchy — they were commoner foot soldiers, usually recruited from farming communities. However, the boundary was not always rigid: talented ashigaru could earn promotion to samurai status, particularly in the Sengoku period. Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself began as a low-class foot soldier and rose to rule Japan.

What weapons did ashigaru carry?

In the Sengoku period, ashigaru primarily carried yari (spears), particularly the long nagae yari used in formation fighting. They also used bows and, after their introduction in 1543, the tanegashima matchlock arquebus. Ashigaru were the mass weapon carriers of Japanese armies; the katana was primarily a samurai weapon.

How did Nobunaga change the role of ashigaru?

Previous commanders used ashigaru as disorganised levies — often poorly equipped and unreliable. Nobunaga systematically organised, equipped, and drilled ashigaru in formation tactics, particularly with nagae yari (long spears) and later with firearms. His ashigaru at Nagashino (1575) demonstrated the effectiveness of organised volley fire from trained foot soldiers.

Ashigaru: Japan's Foot Soldiers

Ashigaru (足軽, “light feet”) were the foot soldiers of Japanese feudal armies — the mass infantry who formed the backbone of Sengoku-era battles. Below the samurai in social status, they were typically recruited from farming communities and armed with spears, bows, and eventually firearms.

Status and Origins

The word breaks down simply: ashi (足, feet) + garu/karu (軽, light). They were “light on their feet” — mobile infantry as opposed to mounted warriors. [history]

Ashigaru occupied a position below the samurai class in the rigid social hierarchy of feudal Japan. They were commoners, usually from farming backgrounds, who served their lord’s military needs. They were not entitled to wear swords as a class marker, did not have samurai family names, and were subordinate to the samurai who led them. [history]

However, the social boundary was not always fixed. In the turbulent Sengoku period, talented men of low origin could rise through military achievement. The most famous example is Toyotomi Hideyoshi — born of low status, possibly an ashigaru’s son, he rose through Nobunaga’s service to become the most powerful man in Japan. His story is extraordinary but not unique; the Sengoku period was a time when birth mattered less than ability and luck. [history]

Equipment

Sengoku ashigaru carried:

Yari (spear): the primary weapon. The nagae yari (long-shafted spear, 450-600 cm) was the standard formation weapon
Yumi (bow): some units were archers
Tanegashima (matchlock arquebus): after firearms reached Japan in 1543, ashigaru became the primary gunners
Lighter, cheaper armour than samurai: do-maru (torso armour), jingasa (iron or lacquered camp hat), basic arm and leg protection [history]

The armour of ashigaru improved over the Sengoku period as commanders invested in better-equipped infantry. By the later Sengoku, well-equipped ashigaru were formidable soldiers. [history]

Nobunaga’s Reform

Before Nobunaga, ashigaru were often treated as undisciplined levies — present in armies but not systematically trained or organised. This limited their tactical usefulness. [history]

Nobunaga changed this. He invested in equipping and drilling ashigaru in coordinated formation tactics. His long-spear (nagae yari) formations required men to hold positions and act in concert rather than breaking into individual combat. He also adopted firearms rapidly after their introduction: at Nagashino (1575), his ashigaru gunners using organised volley fire played a decisive role in breaking the Takeda cavalry charges. [history]

This transformation — the ashigaru from peasant levy to trained formation fighter — was central to Nobunaga’s military effectiveness and to the larger transformation of Japanese warfare in the later Sengoku period.

In the Edo Period

The Tokugawa peace ended large-scale warfare. Ashigaru continued to exist as the lowest rank of military retainer in domain armies, but they never fought in the mass battles their predecessors had known. Many were absorbed into administrative roles in domain governments. [history]

The rigid Tokugawa social classification (shi-no-ko-sho: samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants) separated the warrior and farming classes more firmly than the fluid Sengoku period had. Ashigaru occupied the bottom tier of the warrior class — technically samurai-adjacent, but far from the privileged senior retainers at the top. [history]