Gakkou No Kaiden
The Shadow Army of the Takanda Clan

Did you know the grounds upon which Satoyama High School was built was once a battlefield? During the Sengoku period an army of five thousand ashigaru and two thousand samurai were led into this valley by the famous Takeda Clan general Akiyama Nobutomo. Their goal was to take over this valley and take the castle that commanded the crossroads and allowed garrison the view of the surrounding countryside.

The castle garrison was commanded by the famed Oda Clan general Mori Nagayoshi who commanded around four thousand ashigaru men. When word reached Nagayoshi that a powerful Takeda Army was moving toward the castle, it was expected that he would hold up in the castle and wait for reinforcement from Gifu. Instead Nagayoshi rallied his men and marched out of the castle, he would meet Nobutomo in the field and defeat him there.

The place the two generals met was a field just north of the then tiny hamlet of Satoyama. On one side of the field the powerful Takeda Clan gathered and prepared to charge, the field was flat, and perfect ground for a powerful heavy cavalry charge that the Takeda were famous for. Indeed that is what Nobutomo had planned for, to send his prized two thousand strong heavy cavalry in first, smash the Oda front ranks to bits and pieces and then send in his ashigaru men with their long spears and pikes to finish the job. 

Nagayoshi knew he was outnumbered and knew his chances of victory were slim. But he had an ace up his sleeve. For he possessed two thousand tanegashima guns. He ordered his gunman to up front and to form ranks, one man would fire and then hand it off to another man who would reload while the other man fired.  He would hold his remaining three thousand men in reserve. 

For two days the two armies faced each other. It was early Autumn then and it rained on and off for those two days, nothing heavy just enough to make the ground moist. Nobutomo fumed at the delay, but Nagayoshi used the time to build trenches on his side to trap the horsemen. The two days also allowed him time to bring up some reinforcements. Though these only numbered around five hundred. He also had more supplies brought up, this included thousands of extra bullets, thousands of extra pounds of black powder, along with rice, and tea. 

Finally on the third day Nobutomo could wait no more and gave the signal from his command post to commence the attack. The thundering sound of charging horse's echoed off the steep cliff faces as the first wave of heavy Takeda cavalry charged toward the Oda's position. Nagayoshi was not frightened though and ordered his men to hold firm. Once they came within range though, a hail of bullets was fired at them.

Horses and men fell like autumn leaves. A second wave followed the first, again the muskets of the Oda clan brought down the proud and noble warriors of the Takeda. The field was soon covered with gray smoke. A third wave followed, and again the muskets of the Oda clan stopped the powerful onslaught of mounted warriors.

Nobutomo cursed Nagayoshi and then decided he would lead the next attack, leaving his command post he marched toward the place where the remains of his army had gathered. He ordered those remaining  samurai to dismount and to join in with the charge of the ashigaru, a charge he himself would lead. He was sure at this point the Oda had run out of powder and that now their powerful muskets would be nothing more than clubs. How wrong he was. He was sure of victory and promised a reward of a thousand ryu to each man who brought a head of Oda retainer to him. He also promised vast riches and land to the man who brought the head of Nagayoshi to him. And with that being said, he lead out the attack.

Nagoyashi at this point remained firm. And ordered his men to remain firm. The field at this point had become upturned and was deeply rutted, it was also littered with the remains of horses and slain Takeda warriors. The advancing wave of Takeda warriors would have to charge over the dead bodies of the horses and of their slain brothers in arms.

Once the Takeda came within range. A withering volley of musketry was brought down on the Takeda. The front ranks of the attack melted away, the second rank shuttered, but still spurred on by their commander the Takeda men moved through the hail storm of bullets. Till at last it seemed they were about to reach the main Oda line. Nobutomo sensed victory was at last at hand. And pushed toward the front of the attacking host. It would be he who killed Nagoyashi and took his head.

But alas, Nobutomo was killed by a stray musket ball. With their commander dead, the remaining Takeda troops began to panic and they abandoned the attack. Seeing the remaining Takeda forces fleeing in disorder Nagoyashi ordered his men to now attack. And so he did, the remaining Takeda forces were routed from the field and those who escaped melted into the countryside. Some went over to the Oda side, others took up trades. And in the end Takeda suffered a humiliating defeat. And the Oda won an impressive victory.

The Oda Army moved on to fight other battles. And the field was cleared and the dead were buried in unmarked graves. Time moved on, the fighting came to an end and the warring states period gave way to the Edo Period. Peace returned to Japan. And for two hundred years Japan would know peace. But from time to time, a farmer would see a phantom column of ghostly ashigaru men marching across the field. Normally an hour before dust and an hour before dawn.

Local's thought it was the souls of those who were killed in the battle trying to return home. The field was soon abandoned out of fear of the ghost. But the ghost kept marching on. Even when the school was built it was reported the ghost of the slain men kept marching. And so to this day, they keep marching on. Trying to reach home. It's said if you see them, you would be forced to join their endless march.