The Way of the Warrior
"If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be imperilled by a hundred battles. If you do not know the others but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one. If you do not know the enemy and do not know yourselves you will be in danger in every battle."
The Mori starts with eight provinces in the southern half of Japan. Immediately to the south (my left) are the Shimazu provinces (green). Some of the southern provinces (off the map) are held by Rebel and Ronin forces, as well as the ones off the coast to the east (Sanuki, etc.). Immediately to the north (my right) are the Oda provinces (gold). Beyond them are Hojo (purple), Imagawa (cyan) and Uesugi (dark blue). And then there are the Takeda (black) provinces, one part way to the north and the other part tucked right next to the Mori provinces. Clearly Mori only have a few options to expand – take the few rebel provinces or declare war early on Takeda or Shimazu. But before we decide what to do, here’s a list of where Mori stands in the Spring of 1530 (from left to right):
Province
| Income
| Buildings
| Resources
|
|
|
|
|
Suo
| 139
|
| iron
|
Iwami
| 120
|
| iron
|
Izumo
| 143
|
| iron
|
Hoki
| 103
|
| iron
|
Mimasaka
| 123
| Castle, Archery, Spear,
| iron
|
|
| Tranquil Gardens
|
|
Bizen
| 190
|
| harbor
|
Inaba
| 125
|
| iron
|
Harima
| 220
|
| silver, harbor
|
The Mori provinces are situated in the highlands of Southern Japan, with good sources of iron deposits, access to the coast (and ports) but very little in the way of agriculture (farming income or koku). This is the challenge for the Mori clan: significantly behind all other clans in income producing provinces.
But more importantly, here are the units (each about 60 men) of the Mori clan:
The Mori Daimyo’s Honor Guard (Heavy Cavalry)
(5) units of Samurai Archers
(5) units of Yari Samurai (professional spearmen)
(4) units of Yari Ashigaru (peasant spearmen)
Combined, they would form a power army in the early game but multiple fronts to defend and unpredictable actions from neighboring clans, they start dispersed throughout the mountainous provinces.