<p> On October 21 1600 two massive Japanese armies totaling an estimated 200000 soldiers armed to the teeth with swords <em>yari</em> (spears) arrows muskets and cannons faced off on a battlefield near the town of Sekigahara. A bitter fight to the death ensued and the results would determine the course of Japanese history for the next 250 years. On the battlefield was the warlord Ieyasu Tokugawa a man desiring domain over the entire island of Japan but standing in his way was Ishida Mitsunari a warlord controlling vast swaths of western Japan. Moving with his armies from the east Ieyasu maneuvered into a position at Sekigahara. Ieyasu was relying heavily on the legendary Japanese samurai but contrary to popular belief the samurai warriors of that era were avid firearm users and this battle would be no exception as both armies bristled with muskets and cannons. Ieyasu was outnumbered but he had a trump card: traitors placed in the enemy army. These treacherous warlords would join Ieyasu in the midst of the battle turning it in his favor. </p><p> On September 25 1877 on a rain-soaked muddy field in Kagoshima Japan a small group of proud samurai warrior rebels prepared for one last stand. It was early morning 6:00 a.m. and the remaining 40 samurai warriors still capable of fighting prepared themselves for the glory of death on the battlefield. They had been shelled by powerful artillery guns and naval cannons relentlessly through the night and the rebels had no real shelter or protection. Instead they cowered like rats in small rain-filled mud holes showered by a torrent of steel shells and shrapnel. For seven months the samurai rebels had fought a losing battle against the army of Emperor Meiji the new ruler of Japan’s central government. It was a modern army filled with conscripts armed with rifles and trained in European tactics. </p>