>Could someone help me with this? I know when 2 samurai battled, they
did this by riding out to mid field, stating their
>name and lineage, then attaching. How would this be stated?
>"I am Sanematsu Yoshihide of the clan Minamoto from the Satsuma
Provinces---(now I'm lost. Does he say en guard
>or what?? Or is this anywhere near what he'd say?")
>Thanks in advance
>Kay Swanson w/a Kei Swanson
If the war tales like the Heike Monogatari and the Taiheiki are to be
believed, then a samurai might ride ahead of the army, announce his name
and pedigree, and challenge someone from the opposing army to attack
him. One example from Helen Craig McCullough's translation of the
Taiheiki, where two warriors race ahead of their own army to be first in
to battle:
"We are the lay monk Hitomi Shiro On'a, aged seventy-two, a resident of
the province of Musashi, and Homma Kuro Sukesada, aged thirty-six, a
resident of the province of Sagami, who since leaving Kamakura have been
resolved to perish in battle ahead of our comrades! Let those who are
self-confident come forth to observe the degree of our skill!"
Challenges like this were an attempt to earn recognition on the
battlefield, which was the best way for a samurai to be rewarded for his
service. If the samurai died the rewards earned by his valour would be
passed on to his family, which was the intent of the two warriors above.
Acts like this would likely have been far more usual in Kamakura &
Muromachi (12th through 15th C.) times when armies were smaller and
battles more intimate than in Sengoku times when armies consisted mainly
of ashigaru foot soldiers acting in mass formations.
-AngusH
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