Ashigaru Regiments — Government Reform

Ashigaru Regiments is a government reform that can be adopted by any government type. Reforms are chosen one per tier to shape how your nation is governed.

The ubiquity of conflicts and wars in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai gave rise to a new class of warriors, the ashigaru. While peasants and thus technically not samurai, the easier accessibility to them in comparison to the samurai turned them into the backbone of any army. Armed with spears, bows and swords, their constant presence in battle made them into a class between the farmers and the samurai, being in some cases even considered as part of the lower strata of samurai. Hover, it was with the introduction of the tanegashima teppou, the Japanese adaption of the matchlock, that their presence truly shined. Its easier learning curve compared to the bow, combined with the superior numbers of the ashigaru compared to the samurai, made it so that ashigaru armed with matchlocks became the main part of any Japanese army.