Empire of Nijisanji Army

The Feudal and Imperial army is the lesser of the two military branches because it is the least important of the two. Land wars do occur between opposing Daimyos and petty feuds but the isolationist policy of the Shoichi Shogunate and the naval focus of the Mononobe Shogunate have left an army that is outdated and even amongst its professionals, divided.

Composition

The army is made up largely of feudal levies, drawn from Daimyos and other feudal lords; with the Imperial Army being professionals

Infantry

Feudal Infantry as a whole is of poor quality but rather numerous in contrast to their Imperial counterparts. Feudal infantries lack bayonets and use firearms that are obsolete.

The most common type of infantry is the Ashigaru. armed with a muskets or pikes, are the basic levies from the Daimyos and are raised only during times of war. they received little training and familiarization with tactics, so despite the large numbers, the lack of any recent experience aside from local wars against each other for these conscripts in any form of war means they will not be reliable. But quantity is a quality of its own as it is said, so by sheer numbers and firepower these conscripts could be rather useful.

Yoriki represent a higher form of feudal infantry that comes from the warrior class of the same name. They are armed with both muskets and swords and are trained in the military arts. While some in war prone areas have maintained their excellence, many of the others have lost it due to peace. Despite this, they have maintained their military culture by serving as the policemen of Daimyo fiefs. This means they are not the elite warriors they used to be but are rather average compared to armies to the south in quality. If nothing else, bandits and rouges have trouble with them. They wear Tatami armor

Imperial Guards are a small, completely professional minority within the Imperial Infantry and total 20,000 men. They are professional soldiers of high quality that are well drilled, well-armed and trained. Armed exclusively with muskets, they have been able to abandon mêlée weapons thanks to their drill and reliance on modern muskets with bayonets. The only infantry better than them is the Special Naval Landing Forces, or SNLF, who are drilled even harder and are men selected from the best candidates. In the case of war, these men are what the Empire must rely on most until conscripts are drilled to a better standard, assuming the feudal lords agree to this.

Cavalry

Because of the prestige of horsemen ship, Imperial cavalry is generally better than their infantry.

Yamabushi are warrior monks that fight on horseback with a naginata. These warriors are trained in martial arts as a means of piety towards the Kami and are reluctant warriors that only would come to war if the nation was truly under threat. But if called on, they are a well-trained if someone outdated force. They were Ō-yoroi Armor.

Yabusame are cavalry archers that come from wealthy parts of the Yoriki class and serve a similar role. Trained highly with both bow, spear and sword, they represent the bulk of Imperial Feudal Cavalry. Like the other Yoriki, martial arts are essential for their way of life traditionally and they take pride in their ability in them. Horse archery competitions are popular events in the feudal society and to win them is a goal for many Yabusame. If war comes, these horsemen will be one of the key parts of its defense despite wearing outdated armor and having outdated weapons.

Kishi are the elite of the elite for feudal levies. They represent the Feudal Lord class and their bodyguards. Armed with a long lance and a saber, wearing high quality steel armor and riding the most powerful war horses; the Kishi have no equals in the Empire, not even Imperial Guard Cavalry can be compared. But their small numbers and the fact that they are so valuable beyond the military because they represent the ruling class means that they will only be used in emergencies.

Imperial Guard Cavalry are different forms cavalry modeled after southern counterparts and fight as them. They are split into 4 different types, the Hussar, the Chevau-Léger (light lancer for my non french speakers), Chasseurs-à-Cheval (horse skirmishers for my non french speakers) and the Carabinier. Hussars represent the scouting and light sword cavalry, Chevau-Léger are light lancers used to break enemy skirmishers and attack weak spots, Chasseurs-à-Cheval are mounted skirmishers that are elite light cavalry, and Carabiniers are the heavy shock cavalry that also use a carbine on horseback too. As a total, they number 10,000 and while they are beat out by the Kishi, are more valuable to the army thanks to the various roles they fill. In any case, it would be assumed that these professionals would be what the empire relies on until more horsemen of similar style can be trained in war.

Artillery and Support

This category is unique in that it is all professional and not feudal with one exception to be noted.

Artillery, while allocated and paid for by feudal armies, is entirely professional due to it not being part of the societal class system. It is mostly modern because of the technological advancement in cannons thanks to the navy. Imperial Guard Artillery is usually of a slightly higher standard than the Feudal Artillery however

An Engineering corps also represent part of this branch. Engineers are used mostly in civilian affairs but are trained at the Engineering school in Kuzuha for both civil and military purposes.

The one exception to the professionalism is Shinobi who are mercenary covert saboteurs and assassins draw from dishonorable sectors of society and play a role in political intrigue and assassinations. Their rogue nature led to the establishment of the Teikoku Himitsu Sakusen Kyoku or THSK to try and move away from the Shinobi in recent years.

Organization

The Feudal Army is organized into regional commands, based on the provinces. The Commander is selected by the Shogun from the locals Daimyos. Each Regional army is organized into units and divisions based on their feudal lords, with smaller feudal commands being combined into a larger one.

The Imperial Army on the hand is not much better. It is divided between both shoguns evenly, which angers the Mononobes because they have to pay their own money to the Shoichis for this to be equal. In the time of war, it is questionable how this organization will hold up.

Tactics

The Feudal Armies rely on outdated tactics from 150 to 200 years ago that represent an older era of warfare where pikes would be stationed in large squares on the flanks with muskets in the center. Ashigaru be placed in front of the Yoriki. Cavalry would be placed on the flanks.

The Imperial army is much more flexible without the reliance on pikes and be formed into a number of formations, like squares, line of battle, columns, etc. Cavalry too is much more flexible under this system.

Conclusion

The Feudal and Imperial Army of Nijisanji is an out-of-date force overall that if attacked by a strong neighbor would be crushed. The governmental and societal structure has limited its modernization. While its artillery and specialized support units are high quality along with cavalry, they cannot make up for the out-of-date equipment and tactics that holds back the feudal part of the army; not to mention the dual command structure of the Imperial part. Should a land war break out, great change would be forced upon the Empire which may throw it into chaos and societal collapse if a strong hand does not save it.