Editing Mercenary (section)

====15th to 18th centuries====
The Saika mercenary group<ref>雑賀衆, ''[[:ja:雑賀衆|saikashuu]]''</ref> of the [[Kii Province]], Japan, played a significant role during the [[Siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji]] that took place between August 1570 to August 1580. The Saikashuu were famed for the support of [[Ikkō-shū|Ikkō]] Buddhist sect movements and greatly impeded the advance of [[Oda Nobunaga]]'s forces.

[[Ninja]] were peasant farmers who learned the art of war to combat the ''[[daimyō]]''{{'}}s samurai. They were hired out by many as mercenaries to perform capture, infiltration and retrieval, and, most famously, assassinations. Ninja possibly originated around the 14th century, but were not widely known or used till the 15th century and carried on being hired till the mid 18th century. In the 16th-17th centuries, the Spanish in the [[Philippines]] employed [[samurai]] mercenaries from Japan to help control the archipelago.<ref name="Álvarez">{{cite web |last1=Álvarez |first1=Jorge |title=The Sinking of the San Diego, the Spanish galleon that carried Japanese mercenaries to stop a Dutch invasion |url=https://labrujulaverde.com/en/2019/05/the-sinking-of-the-san-diego-the-spanish-galleon-that-carried-japanese-mercenaries-to-stop-a-dutch-invasion/ |website=LBV |date=11 May 2019 |access-date=26 May 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029234348/https://labrujulaverde.com/en/2019/05/the-sinking-of-the-san-diego-the-spanish-galleon-that-carried-japanese-mercenaries-to-stop-a-dutch-invasion/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Abroad the wreck of one Spanish galleon, the [[San Diego (ship)|''San Diego'']], that sank in Filipino waters on 14 December 1600 were found numerous ''tsuba''s, the handguards of the ''katana''s, the distinctive swords used by the samurai.<ref name="Álvarez"/>

In 1615, the Dutch invaded Ai Island with Japanese mercenaries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wardsan.travellerspoint.com/s21/|title=Asia 2008–09|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530104033/http://wardsan.travellerspoint.com/s21/|archive-date=30 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://search.library.utoronto.ca/details?7626150|title=Merchant kings : when companies ruled the world, 1600–1900 / – University of Toronto Libraries|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|isbn=978-0312616113|year=2010|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629154836/http://search.library.utoronto.ca/details?7626150|archive-date=29 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danbyrnes.com.au/lostworlds/timeline/lwstory7.htm|title=Lost Worlds Page 7 – From 1600–1700|first=Dan|last=Byrnes|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325034159/http://www.danbyrnes.com.au/lostworlds/timeline/lwstory7.htm|archive-date=25 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>