This weekend I finally completed work on my Yakuza buntai for Osprey's Ronin skirmish game. This is a rarity for me, with my scattergun approach to the miniatures/wargames hobby - a finished force... it helps that Ronin requires fewer than a dozen figures a side! I posted photos of this Yakuza buntai back in October last year, when it was a 95pts roster max, but since then I have expanded it slightly so that I can field 149pts for larger games. 
Ya-ku-za (8-9-3) is the worst losing hand in the game Oicho-Kabu, & alludes to the illegal gambling dens that were set up by local 'bosses' in late-Edo period Japan. These crime bosses would run gambling, loan-sharking, prostitution, & extortion rackets, preying like parasites upon the rural peasantry. Some Yakuza gangs grew in influence to encompass several districts, so that lesser bosses owed allegience to more senior ones. The term Bakuto (gamblers) was also used to describe such gangs, and those who associated with them. Gambling was illegal, and regarded with disdain by society at large. Gambling dens would often be set-up at the edge of towns or villages, sometimes in abandoned temples or shrines.
Below are rosters for 50pts, 100pts, & 150pts games with this force. In the biggest roster, the Yakuza have hired a pair of Ronin (masterless Samurai mercenaries) to bolster their mediocre abilities.
- 4x Shikaku (Thug) with katana (sword) @11pts each.
- 1x Yotamono (Ruffian) with ararebō (club) @4pts.
Yakuza buntai - 95pts
- 1x Gashira (Lieutenant) with katana (sword), & Commander @18pts.
- 1x Shikaku (Thug) with teppo (arquebus), & katana (sword) @14pts.
- 5x Shikaku (Thug) with katana (sword) @11pts each.
- 2x Yotamono (Ruffian) with ararebō (club) @4pts each.
Yakuza buntai - 149pts
- 1x Gashira (Lieutenant) with katana (sword), & Commander @18pts.
- 2x Shikaku (Thug) with teppo (arquebus), & katana (sword) @14pts each.
- 5x Shikaku (Thug) with katana (sword) @11pts each.
- 2x Yotamono (Ruffian) with ararebō (club) @4pts each.
Hired Swords - 1x Ronin with nodachi (great sword), wakazashi (short short), & Powerful @20pts.
- 1x Ronin with katana (sword), wakazashi (short sword), & Kenjutsu (sword skill) @20pts.
Cracking work on the Yakuza thugs!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I've had a copy of Ronin for years but never tried it so I'd love to hear what you think of it.
All the best!
Thank you. I'm hoping to get my first game in before too long - I should have my other buntai finished soon. Then I just need to paint-up the laser-cut buildings that I have & I should be good to go...
DeleteEager to relive classic chanbara action sequences!
Love the way that you have linked them with the colour palette.
ReplyDeleteCheers Michael, I am pleased how they turned out. I did a bit of reading on late-Edo-period clothing, & combined with watching chanbara films, wanted to make sure I stuck to the more muted tones that were the mainstay of the day. I didn't want them to look uniformed, but still wanted them to cohere as a faction on the tabletop.
DeleteThose look brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Riot. It took a while, but I finally finished them :-)
DeleteWonderful painting and very colourful. With your recently finished Sarissa buildings you have the makings for a great collection.
ReplyDelete