The ashigaru were the foot soldiers of old Japan. Initially recruited to swell Japanese army numbers and paid only by loot, the samurai soon learned to appreciate their skill with arquebuses and spears, and well-trained ashigaru soon made up a vital part of any samurai army. This book tells the story of the ashigaru for the first time, drawing on previously untranslated Japanese sources and featuring illustrations that show ashigaru as sailors and catapult artillery men as well as the disciplined ranks that they had become.