As political power changed from the nobles to the Samurai class, they created their own style of house called Shoin-zukuri .

This John Jenkins Samurai complex is a model I have had since I purchased the original Test of Honour starter kit from Warlord Games when it first came out. The model itself is a reasonable example of the Shoin-zukuri style, but it was really the interior of these houses with their corridors and symmetrical rooms which set it apart rather than the outside displayed but this example. The Jenkins set was expensive when I first purchased it, but is almost prohibitive now.

With most of my Test of Honour figures now completed I have turned myself to finishing off the few pieces of terrain I have left to do. Just like in Pete’s recent blog one of the incentives was a deadline of this Friday when Steve N and myself are going to have a game of Test of Honour to iron out our understanding of the rules for a game with the rest of the gang a week or so later. Deadlines are great for getting things done.

I am pleased with how it has turned out.

I will provide pics of the rest of the terrain and a battle report following Friday’s game. Most of the terrain has appeared in previous blogs but this will be the first time it has appeared in all of its glory.

PS: The samurai were an elite warrior and political class that dominated Japan for hundreds of years. Right before a battle, the daimyo, or warlord, would raise his signaling flag and shout “Ei! Ei!” to which the samurai would respond with “Oh!” Then all hell would be unleashed on the enemy. Sad but true! Tenno Heika Banzai or “long live the Emperor” became more common and is equivalent to “long live the Queen”. Banzai itself means “ten thousand years”. So fellow warriors:

Ei! Ei!

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