Dates of birth and death uncertain (c. 1534 - c. 1589). His real name is thought to be Suzuki Shigehide, but "Saika Magoichi" was a hereditary title used by successive leaders of the Saika Ikki, and the deeds of several individuals may have been conflated. Based in the Saika district of Kii Province (around modern Wakayama), the Saika-shu were the most feared gun-wielding mercenary force in Sengoku Japan. Closely allied with the Ikko-ikki religious militants, they answered the call of Honganji Kennyo and entered Ishiyama Honganji fortress. During the Ishiyama Honganji War (1570-1580), Magoichi's Saika gunners mounted ferocious resistance against Oda Nobunaga's armies. In the 1577 Saika Campaign, even though Nobunaga invaded Kishu with an army of 100,000, the Saika's guerrilla tactics and concentrated firearms prevented him from achieving complete subjugation. The Saika-shu are believed to have independently developed organized volley fire — dividing troops into loading and firing teams for continuous shooting — predating the famous "three-line volley" often attributed to Nobunaga. This was the key factor in repelling even the Oda war machine. After Ishiyama Honganji surrendered, the Saika split into factions. Accounts of Magoichi's later life vary — some say he served Hideyoshi, others that he fought at Komaki and Nagakute — but reliable records are scarce. Nevertheless, his record of leading Japan's strongest gun corps and repeatedly tormenting the would-be unifier Nobunaga holds a singular place in Japanese military history.