In the wake of the ineffectuality of centralised government and the lack of economic governance, local landlords and even peasants and monks have begun to take up arms for the defence of their homes or the extension of their influence. Shōen Retainers are people from all walks of life — military men, militia, and even vagabonds and undesirables — who have been lured with the promise of an iron rice bowl to join in the struggles of an increasingly feudalised society where the production of food and the means to do so is all that matters.