Kabukimono (傾奇者 (カブキもの)) or hatamoto yakko (旗本奴) were gangs of samurai in feudal Japan. First appearing in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (between the end of the Muromachi period in 1573 and the beginning of the Edo period in 1603) as the turbulent Sengoku period drew to a close, kabukimono were either rōnin, wandering samurai, or men who had once worked for samurai families - who, during times of peace, formed street gangs. Some, however, were also members of more prominent clans — most notably Oda Nobunaga and Maeda Toshiie.