足あし軽がる大だい将しょう

also: あしがるたいしょう

Meanings

1

commander of a troop of foot soldiers (ashigaru)

Historical military rank in feudal Japan; a samurai who led a unit of ashigaru (foot soldiers).

戦せん国ごく時じ代だい、足あし軽がる大だい将しょうは戦せん場じょうで足あし軽がるたちを指し揮きした。
During the Warring States period, the ashigaru taishō commanded the foot soldiers on the battlefield.

Kanji

足leg, foot, be sufficient
軽lightly, trifling, unimportant
大large, big
将leader, commander, general

Related words

足あし軽がる
足軽 refers to the common foot soldiers themselves, while 足軽大将 is the commander who leads them.
大たい将しょう
大将 is a general term for a commander or leader, but 足軽大将 specifically denotes the commander of ashigaru troops.

Built from

足あし軽がる+大たい将しょう

Written forms

足軽大将
- あしがるだいしょう
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading あしがるだいしょう is the most common.
- あしがるたいしょう
  Alternate reading; less common than あしがるだいしょう.
あしがるたいしょう

Etymology

A compound of 足軽 “foot soldier” and 大将 “commander”; 大将 has the reading だいしょう here.