Ashgaru color question.

[racm32]

So I have these on order so I can do some retainers of the Oda clan. My problem is I dont know what color to paint the armor of the Ashigaru. I have done some google searching but haven't come up with anything helpful. Suggestions?

[Golgotha]

I personally doubt they were that uniformed that they all wore one colour if contemporary paintings are anything to go by... However, the game Total War made them yellow see video clip https://totalwar.fandom.com/wiki/Oda_Clan

See also https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=785807741

Given the clan's namesake see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga which contains some primary sources which may help.

Does the Osprey Ashigaru book not provide any indication see - I seem to recall it having Odo Clan or at least chaps in yellow...

[racm32]

Thank you for the links. I dont have that Osprey book. I have often seen them depicted in the plain armor but occasionally in uniformly painted armor. 

[88D]

I remember reading on a samurai forum years ago when looking up this question and the consensus from surviving armour and period illustrations was that it was roughly  80% black armour 15% brown/rust (which most of the surviving ishida armours seem to be and some of the kato clan armour is brown with gold sides) and 5% every other colour barring some special units such as the Li which had a uniform unusual colour (red in their case) and date clan had a sear unit in jingasas which can only be described as gold dunce caps in shape paired with black armour when he sent a contingent for the imjin war which impressed hideyoshi.

for a regular clan you would be best to paint the ashigaru in black armour with a couple of brown pieces to break up the monotony.

[racm32]

Great, that answers my question.

[FierceKitty]

There is no Japanese 'L'. The Red Devils clan, with the pretty castle in Hikone, is spelled in Roman script with a doubled ninth letter of the alphabet, and pronouned accordingly. I made the same mistake myself in my salad days.

[Condottiere]

Try asking on the Samurai Archives forum. If you need help registering, PM me, as I post there as Condottiero Magno.

The late Osprey author Anthony Bryant's Sengoku Daimyo is a decent source.