Western Army

Western Army may refer to:

See also

Matsudaira clan

The Matsudaira clan (松平氏, Matsudaira-shi) was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which are also in Mikawa Province. In the 16th century, the main Matsudaira line experienced a meteoric rise to success during the direction of Matsudaira Motoyasu, who changed his name to Tokugawa Ieyasu and became the first Tokugawa shogun. Ieyasu's line formed what became the Tokugawa clan; however, the branches retained the Matsudaira surname. Other branches were formed in the decades after Ieyasu, which bore the Matsudaira surname. Some of those branches were also of daimyo status.

After the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system, the Tokugawa and Matsudaira clans became part of the new nobility.

Origins

The Matsudaira clan originated in Mikawa Province. Its origins are uncertain, but in the Sengoku era, the clan claimed descent from the medieval Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. According to this claim, the founder of the Matsudaira line was Matsudaira Chikauji, who lived in the 14th century and established himself in Mikawa Province, at Matsudaira village.

Samurai Warriors

Samurai Warriors (戦国無双, Sengoku Musō, Sengoku Musou in Japan, lit. Unrivaled Warring States) is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based loosely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a sister series of the Dynasty Warriors series, released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004. A port of this game called Samurai Warriors: State of War has been released for the PlayStation Portable, which includes additional multiplayer features.

Gameplay

In the basic gameplay of Samurai Warriors, the player takes the role of a single officer in battle and must fend off hordes of enemy soldiers and defeat the enemy commander. The player has at their disposal a range of combo attacks and crowd-clearing special moves known as Musou attacks. The variety of attacks available increase as the character increases in level and gains new weapons.

Musou attacks can only be performed when the character's Musou gauge has filled up, which does so gradually when the player inflicts or receives damage. Additionally, if the player is low on health or possess a special skill, they can use their special True Musou attack which causes elemental damage in addition to normal damage as well as adds on a trio of attacks that cleans up the final few enemies in the vicinity. One difference between Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors is the ability to perform free-style combo attacks during Musou attack mode, during which the game enters bullet-time; common soldiers move very slowly, however officers are unaffected. Other abilities that Samurai characters have over the Dynasty series include the ability to perform a roll to dodge attacks, and deflect incoming arrows with their weapon.

Fukushima Masanori

Fukushima Masanori (福島 正則, 1561 – August 26, 1624) was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku Period to early Edo Period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears of Shizugatake which also included Katō Kiyomasa and others.

Biography

Fukushima Masanori, or as he was first known, Ichimatsu, was born in Owari Province, the son of Fukushima Masanobu. He is believed to have been the cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He first engaged in battle at the assault on Miki Castle in Harima Province, and following the battle of Yamazaki, he was granted a 500 koku stipend.

At the battle of Shizugatake in 1583 (Tenshō 11), Masanori had the honor of taking the first head, namely that of the enemy general Ogasato Ieyoshi, receiving a 5000 koku increase in his stipend for this distinction (the other six "Spears" each received 3000 Koku).

Masanori took part in many of Hideyoshi's campaigns; it was after the Kyūshū Expedition, however, that he was made a daimyō. Receiving the fief of Imabari in Iyo Province, his income was rated at 110,000 koku. Soon after, he took part in the Korean Campaign. Masanori was to once again receive distinction when he took Ch'ongju.

Ii Naomasa

Ii Naomasa (井伊 直政, March 4, 1561 – March 24, 1602) was a general under the Sengoku period Daimyo, and later Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa along with Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Sakai Tadatsugu.

Early life

Ii Naomasa was born in Hōda Village of Tōtōmi Province. His family, like the Tokugawa, had originally been retainers of the Imagawa clan, but following the death of the clan's leader, Imagawa Yoshimoto, in the Battle of Okehazama (1560), confusion and general chaos ensued. Naomasa's father, Naochika, was falsely convicted of treason by Yoshimoto's paranoid successor, Imagawa Ujizane, and was subsequently killed. Naomasa, then a very small child, was personally lucky to escape his father's fate and was later taken in by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who discovered Naomasa while hunting in Hamamatsu.

Naomasa the General

Ii Naomasa joined the ranks of the Tokugawa clan in the mid-1570s, rising swiftly through the ranks to eventually become the master of a sizable holding in Ōmi Province, following the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). His court title was Hyōbu-dayū.