Yari Ashigaru are a type of melee infantry unit featured in Shogun: Total War. At the start of a campaign, most clans wills start with a unit of yari ashigaru as part of their army. Yari Ashigaru literally means 'speared lightfeet,' eluding on their role as Light Infantry. They are the equivalent to peasant militia in the latter Total War titles, and are the cheapest unit in the game - but also the weakest.
Description[]
The standard Ashigaru is equipped with light armour and a Yari - a long spear. They are conscripted peasants and poorly trained, but often form the mainstay of Samurai armies. When their fear of the enemy exceeds their fear of their masters, they often waver. They operate best when kept in tight formation, where their long spears give them an advantage, particularly against Cavalry.
The yari, or long spear, was popular as a weapon among the daimyo for their ashigaru because it was relatively easy to train large numbers of peasants to use it. Learning to hold a spear (and point it in the right direction) doesn’t take anything like as much time as learning to use a sword properly!
Yari Ashigaru should not be compared directly to samurai warriors armed in a similar fashion. Ashigaru fighting ability, morale and general levels of equipment are markedly inferior to those of true samurai. On the other hand, the ashigaru are relatively cheap soldiers and can be trained in great numbers quite quickly. Ashigaru soldiers of this type are usually present in clan armies in considerable numbers for just these reasons.