AH Challenge: Elite gay samurai death squads

[Midgard]

In ancient Greece, both Spartans and Thebans sometimes encouraged homosexuality between their elite soldiers, believing that it would create stronger bonds between the men fighting side by side, and that it would make them stronger fighters, less likely to run, and more willing to protect their comrades' lives. Theban Sacred Band was a particularly famous example of it.

Your challenge, should you accept it, is to have a similar concept arise in Japan. Is it plausible? Would it fit with medieval Japanese mindset, religion, etc? Would such approach to organizing elite troops have resulted in any changes to Japan's history and its contacts with the outside powers worth noticing? How would the Europeans view the idea when faced with it?

Discuss.

 

[Haggis]

The Portuguese bring a history book with them.

 

[abas]

Your challenge, should you accept it, is to have a similar concept arise in Japan. Is it plausible? Would it fit with medieval Japanese mindset, religion, etc? Would such approach to organizing elite troops have resulted in any changes to Japan's history and its contacts with the outside powers worth noticing? How would the Europeans view the idea when faced with it?.

The medieval japanese had no prejudice against homosexuality.

 

[Cloudy Vortex]

Other than the "Hit on me and I'll knock your teeth out" attitude and occasional humor-at-expense, which may be inevitable even in the gay friendliest societies, homosexuality was quite acceptable in medieval and Tokugawa Japan, as it is in modern Japan. Indeed, Samurai society had, to my knowledge, the largest concentration of homosexual men, outside of the theatre. To my very limited understanding, though, gay samurai preferred actors to other gay samurai. A slight change in fashion and tastes should get you your results, Midgard. Can't imagine it having an effect on anything outside of this business, though.

 

[Tyr]

Technically homosexuality wasn't acceptable. To be fully gay involved dashing any chance of having kids and well...that just wasn't on no matter if you are the highest noble or the lowliest peasent.
Being bisexual was fine though.

 

[Thande]

Ooh, I know!

The Dutch who go to Japan in the seventeenth century become possessed by the spirits of their modern descendants.

 

[Berra]

Fell in the sea of time

 

[Leo Caesius]

If this were a post-1900 counterfactual, than I'm sure we could get Mishima to organize one (hah! A counterfactual counterfactual!).

 

[pieman3141]

From what I remember, pederasty was somewhat acceptable in Japan at that time.

 

[WhatIsAUserName]

I can think of at least one anime (Rurouni Kenshin), that would receive a much different perception if this was true.

If an analogy of WWII Japan somehow walks around in the very far future, it would put a very different spin on the military. Kamikaze pilots killing themselves with their lovers, or something close to that?