Ikko-Ikki: Japanese Warrior Monks

History of the Samurai Wars - in association with Total War: Shogun 2 and Intel

During the Sengoku Period, the rule by the samurai class was sometimes severely challenged by the armies mounted by lower-class self-governing communities called ikki or leagues. The most powerful one was based on a shared adherence to the True Pure Land sect of Buddhism as the ‘Single-minded League or ‘Ikko-ikki’.

Ikko-Ikki
Although often erroneously referred to as warrior monks, the warriors were not ordained priests but samurai of modest means, townspeople, or farmers. They were among the first organised military forces in Japan to embrace the new technology of firearms, and held out against Oda Nobunaga for ten years from their fortified cathedral of Ishiyama Honganji, built where Osaka castle now stands.

By comparison with the way he treated the armies of defeated samurai lords, Nobunaga was ruthless in his destruction of these contemptible rabble, and mass slaughter was carried out on several occasions. Curiously, the final surrender of Ishiyama Honganji was a negotiated settlement, and this generosity went some way towards ensuring that no religious armies would ever again rise to challenge samurai dominance.

History of the Samurai Wars - The making of Total War: Shogun 2 - WIN Collector's Edition of Total War: Shogun 2 - 10 Major Developments of Japanese warfare in the Sengoku Period - Rise of the Samurai - Japanese Castles - Military Trends during the Sengoku Period - Battle in the Snow: Mikata ga Hara - Timeline of The Sengoku Period: Japan’s Age of War- Read the History of Samurai Wars magazine

Samurai Weapons - The Samurai Sword (Katana - The Japanese Longbow

Japanese Warriors - Religious Warriors of Japan - Female Samurai Warriors - Ninja (Shinobi) – Secret Assassins

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