ashigaru

thumb|right|250px|Ashigaru wearing armor and jingasa firing tanegashima (Japanese matchlocks)

were peasant infantry employed by the warlords of Japan to supplement the samurai in their armies. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.