As the last samurai rebellion was crushed, Japan modernized its defenses and turned to a national conscription army that used uniforms. During the existence of the samurai, two opposite types of organization reigned. The first type were recruits-based armies: at the beginning, during the Nara period, samurai armies relied on armies of Chinese-type recruits and towards the end in infantry units composed of ashigaru. The second type of organization was that of a samurai on horseback who fought individually or in small groups. At the beginning of the contest a series of bulbous-headed arrows were shot, which buzzed in the air. The purpose of these shots was to call the kami to witness the displays of courage that were about to unfold. After a brief exchange of arrows between the two sides, a contest called ikkiuchi (一 騎 討 ち) was developed, where great rivals on both sides faced each other. In this type of duels, aspects such as range influenced a lot, the name, the position within the army, etc. After these individual combats, the major combats were given way, usually sending infantry troops led by samurai on horseback. At the beginning of the samurai battles, it was an honor to be the first to enter battle. This changed in the Sengoku period with the introduction of the arcabuz. At the beginning of the use of firearms, the combat methodology was as follows: at the beginning an exchange of arcabuz shots was made at a distance of approximately 100 meters; When the time was right, the Ashigaru spearmen were ordered to advance and finally the samurai would attack, either on foot or on horseback. The army chief used to be sitting in a scissor chair inside a semi-open tent called Maku, which exhibited its respective mon. As a sign of the symbolism so strong that this represented, another way of calling the shogunate instituted by Minamoto no Yoritomo was the term bakufu, which meant "government from the maku." In the middle of the contest, some samurai decided to get off the horse and seek to cut off the head of a worthy rival. This act was considered an honor. In addition, through it they gained respect among the military class. After the battle, the high-ranking samurai normally celebrated the tea ceremony, and the victorious general reviewed the heads of the most important members of the enemy who had been cut. It is important to note that most of the battles were not resolved in the manner so idealist exposed above, but that most wars were won through surprise attacks, such as night raids, fires, etc.