16th century Japanese warfare is superior to medieval warfare

R1. Ninja No where does that source say they had a strict moral code and would not fight for their Japan's enemies? It in fact says "They will use any and all means to accomplish their ends" and "having divorced themselves from society, see themselves as free from its sanctions and restrictions, and operate on an amoral, mercenary basis" (1). So they are not moral. Besides Wikipedia is more accurate than the encyclopedia Britannica it is a perfectly reliable source (2, 3). Ninja's did not swear fealty to anyone they were paid. They were servants. A servant is one who is someone who "performs duties about the person or home of a master or personal employer" (4). R2. Ikko Ikki They did not hire ANYBODY. It was an armed revolt committed solely by those who wanted to the people involved were "peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles". These people nothing more than those who followed "the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū (True Pure Land) sect of Buddhism" (5). This rebellion was defeated when Oda Nobunaga besieged (with a force of samurai) and destroyed the Ishiyama Hongan-ji and Nagashima fortresses, it took several tries. These fortresses were the major strong points for the rebellion. It was an armed revolt that lasted 80 years and was ended with force. My sources and my analysis provides my evidence. They did not hire Ronin. Nobles joined their cause willingly. R3. Unrest in Europe Pilgrimage--it was ended peacefully. (6) Tudor conquest--King Henry was declared King of Ireland and had all of the Lord's pledges of allegiance. (7) Also, the occupation utilized more foot soldiers than knights. Uprising of cahi-- I'm pretty sure this was a Chinese rebellion (8) Revolt of 1173--did not happen in the 16th century and is irrelevant Revolt of Germany 1224-1335--did not happen in the 16th century, irrelevant Interregum--Happened between 1649–1660 that's the 17th century if I'm not mistaken. It was a period of democracy in England. Most of these did not even occur anywhere in the 16th century. Most of them also were settled diplomatically such as in the case of the Pilgrimage of Grace. R4. Samurai vs Knight. The samurai are trained to exploit weaknesses. The knights are trained to defend these weaknesses and exploit the weaknesses of their enemy. I believe the Knight has an advantage here. Once again with the kick you assume the knight would be knocked down. As for getting behind the shield. Simple solution. The knight pulls out a dagger and stabs the Samurai through the gut. You see it's much easier to do that than to punch and kick a sheet of metal. R5. Long bowman English law required them to do the training with that longbow. They were also required to, if necessary, fight for their lords who in turn would fight for the King. So yes, if they have to they have to fight. 6,000 Long bowmen destroyed a 35,000 man French army at the battle of Crecy. Imagine what larger numbers would do. As for your flanking, your assuming there is absolutely no ground protection for the archers other than the stakes (which there was in the form of men-at-arms) and the archers were in a position that cavalry could get to (which they most assuredly would not be at). R6. Navy The Medieval navy began their campaigns with Greek fire preloaded that way they could fire the first shot. Besides, English cannon had swivel guns and "were in use in Western warships, and mounted at the bow and sterns to devastating effect". (10) R7. Cavalry They both had ways to defeat the other sides infantry. The armor protects the knight and horse from spear attacks. They may have been heavily armored and a little slower to speed up but, they could go just as quickly after a bit of acceleration. R8. Heavy Armor 16th century English martial arts are still used to some extent by Special Forces today such as the SAS. It's not useless. "There were a variety of grappling styles and wrestling sports practiced across Europe since ancient times. The surviving manuals and illustrated study guides featuring these teachings reveal a sophisticated understanding of unarmed self-defense and combat wrestling techniques, including understanding of: throws, joint locks, groundfighting, wrist locks, open hand blows, kicks, bone breaking, and even pressure-point manipulation." (11) R9. Army Size The number I provided was warrior strength. They traveled in groups of 50,000-100,000 men. R10. Weapons and armor "Metallurgical study of swords has confirmed they reflected considerable knowledge of how to produce resilient high-carbon blades with hard steel edges, while investigation of their designs has demonstrated their utility and functionality. Fighting men of this time were no fools and for centuries their self-defense weapons reflected the highest level of technology and craftsmanship." (11). Their swords were made very well. R11.Training "At 7, the son of a medieval nobleman or knight would be sent off to serve as a page in a lord's castle. There, he would learn horsemanship, archery and swordsmanship, and perform various other duties around the castle" (12). R12. Allies They had a 200,000 man army. I provided a source. I'm also sure countries such as China and Korea would be more than happy to help a European Army marching to attack Japan. You cannot discount the Chinese and Korean armies. Including their "wushkanda and Daylaka". R13. Movement Once the Europeans are actually there they carry their weapons and provisions on their bodies. R14. Halberds and pikes The weapons were made so you could not break them (13). The Samurai would be dealing with 4-5 (maybe even 6 or 7) rows of pikeman all stabbing sharply pointed objects at vital areas. They will not be able to block all of the 100s of attacks. If all the samurai are engaging the pikemen then the archers will kill the samurai. This means Japan is basically defenseless as the Samurai are the only Japanese warrior capable of defeating a knight. They both had extreme battle experience. Mercenaries usually have more battle experience than those who are not as mercenaries are constantly in battle. 1. http://www.pvv.ntnu.no... 2. http://arstechnica.com... 3. http://www.quakercampus.com... 4. http://www.merriam-webster.com... 5. http://en.wikipedia.org... 6. http://en.wikipedia.org... 7. http://en.wikipedia.org... 8. http://en.wikipedia.org... 9. http://en.wikipedia.org... 10. http://en.wikipedia.org... 11. http://www.thearma.org... 12. http://www.medieval-life.net...