Yamabushi

Yamabushi
Unit information
Introduced in	The Asian Dynasties
Type	Infantry Heavy infantry Melee infantry
Civilization	Japanese
Age	Commerce Age
Training
Trained at	Shogun Tokugawa (Yamabushi) Consulate (Konsha Yamabushi)
Requires	Japanese Isolationism (Konsha Yamabushi)
Food	45 (Yamabushi)
Wood	40 (Yamabushi)
Export	60 (Konsha Yamabushi)
Training time	30 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	140
Resists	10% vs. Ranged
Speed	5
Line of Sight	12
Population	1
XP train bounty	9
XP bounty	9
Melee attack
Damage	9
Multipliers	x5.0 vs. Cavalry x3.5 vs. Light infantry
Rate of Fire	1.5
Siege attack
Damage	35
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Japanese Monk armed with a large two-handed club. Good against cavalry and buildings.	”
—In-game description

The Yamabushi is a melee heavy infantry unit in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Japanese and can be trained either by Shogun Tokugawa or at the Consulate when Japanese Isolationism is chosen as Konsha Yamabushi. It is armed with a kanabo club and excels at defeating cavalry.

Overview

Yamabushi are like European Pikemen, as both are relatively fast heavy infantry units with large attack bonuses against cavalry and shock infantry.

However, they have better stats in anything, except cost, as they cost five more food than Pikemen. They are tougher and stronger, but their main difference and advantage is the fact they have a ranged resistance. While not enough to help them survive an onslaught with Skirmisher-type units, groups of Yamabushi are much better at facing them than Pikemen, who die faster from their volleys.

It is recommended to train them from the Consulate as an anti-cavalry cover for their Yumi Archers in the early game, and from the Shogun later, as it provides a mobile Japanese army with cheap anti-building units (particularly if the Onin War card is chosen at the Home City) during the late game. They can be combined with Samurais, or replaced by them for the siege power.

The Konsha Yamabushi has 10% more hit points and attack than the regular Yamabushi.

Upgrades

The Yamabushi is automatically upgraded in every Age up starting from the Fortress Age. However, only the regular variant whose name changes to reflect this.

Disciplined Yamabushi (+20% hit points and attack)

Honored Yamabushi (+30% hit points and attack)

Exalted Yamabushi (+50% hit points and attack)

Further statistics

As (Konsha) Yamabushi are unique to the Japanese, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry, light infantry, buildings
Weak vs.	Skirmishers, archers, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Infantry Breastplate (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Maya Cotton Armor (+20%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Mapuche Tactics (+50% siege attack) Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%) Yoga (+5%) Master Lessons (+10%)
Speed	Incan Road-building (+20%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Sight	Town Watch (+2)
Creation speed	Standing Army (-25%) Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)

Home City Cards

As (Konsha) Yamabushi are unique to the Japanese, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the (Konsha) Yamabushi

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Dutch Card Description Age HC level TEAM Infantry Hitpoints Infantry get +15% hit points 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Iroquois Card Description Age HC level TEAM Scout Infantry Infantry get +8 LOS 10 Japanese Card Description Age HC level Onin War Infantry get +33% siege attack 40 Good Faith Agreements Consulate armies/units train time -50%; Consulate shipments/technologies cost -40% (-400 export for Brigades) and arrives/are researched twice as fast (except Brigades) 1 The Good Faith Agreements card only affects Konsha Yamabushi. Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Dueling School Infantry train time -25%; banner army train time -12% 25 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Hand Infantry Attack Melee infantry get +15% attack 10 TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

Trivia

• The Yamabushi are one of several anti-cavalry units in the series to use a club, the others being the Maceman, the Mapuche Ironwood Clubman, the Nootka Clubman, and the Nootka War Chief from Age of Empires III, as well as the Katapeltes from Age of Mythology.
• Yamabushi are the only melee heavy infantry units to have a ranged resistance instead of melee resistance.

History

“

Unlike the sohei warrior monks of the same period, the yamabushi were an order of loosely banded mountain hermits who had retreated to the mountains of Japan in pursuit of peace and worldly abstinence. The yamabushi were disciples of Shugendo, the study of man’s relationship to nature, and strived for spiritual enlightenment through the purging of outside influence. Over time, the yamabushi became the caretakers of all forms of obscure occult knowledge and were often sought after as healers and guides. In addition to their study of nature, esoteric imagery, and religious texts, the yamabushi also trained in the martial arts. By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the scattered yamabushi began to show an interest in affairs outside their mountain havens, and began to form loose groups known as konsha, which took orders from a central temple. Banded together in this way, the yamabushi, like their warrior monk brethren, the sohei and the ikko-ikki, suddenly held political power in a region where clans and kingdoms were constantly toppled. These warrior monks fought alongside samurai in many campaigns of the Sengoku Period, until they were eventually crushed by the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga.

”

Gallery

An in-game Yamabushi

An in-game Konsha Yamabushi; note the circle which differs them from the standard Yamabushi

The Yamabushi's history portrait

Yamabushi stats

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