Religious Establishments Before Nobunaga — Their Military and Economic Power
In the Sengoku era, Japan’s great temples and shrines were not merely religious institutions. Major religious establishments combined economic power through shoen (estate) control, armed forces known as sohei (warrior monks), and political ties to the imperial court and shogunate.
Enryakuji’s Real Power — the “Yamahoshi” Warriors
Enryakuji on Mt. Hiei, founded by Saicho in 788, had for centuries served as the head temple of Tendai Buddhism and the apex of Japanese religious power. The court aristocracy of the Heian period was terrorized by Enryakuji’s practice of “goso” — carrying sacred portable shrines into the capital to demand concessions. Refusing the mountain’s demands was practically impossible.
Economically, Enryakuji was equally formidable. It controlled vast estates across the country and dominated distribution around Lake Biwa through the transport guilds it oversaw.
The Military Threat of the Ikko-ikki
The Ikko-ikki — armed uprisings by devotees of the Jodo Shinshu (Ikko-shu) sect led by Honganji — had clashed with regional powers across Japan since the mid-Muromachi period. In Kaga Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture), the provincial lord was overthrown after 1474, and Kaga became “a province held by peasants” for nearly a century. Honganji was not merely a religious organization but a military force capable of ruling an entire province.
Sohei warriors, shoen estates, Lake Biwa trade control
Ishiyama Honganji (Ikko-shu)
Ikko-ikki uprisings, Kaga dominance, Osaka Bay economy
Kofukuji (Yamato Province)
De facto ruler of Yamato, warrior monks
Extensive estate networks from Kanto to western Japan
1570 — The Beginning of the Ishiyama War
Nobunaga’s Push into Osaka and the Clash with Honganji
In the eighth month of Genki 1 (1570), Nobunaga sent a letter demanding that the Ishiyama Honganji complex in Osaka vacate the strategic ground it occupied. Honganji’s head Abbot Kennyo (1543–1592) refused, and in the ninth month issued a nationwide call for his followers to rise against Nobunaga. The Battle of Ishiyama — a siege lasting over a decade — had begun.
Osaka, where Ishiyama Honganji stood, commanded the junction of the Seto Inland Sea and the Kinai heartland. Control of Osaka Bay was indispensable to unifying Japan. The confrontation with Honganji was as much geographic necessity as religious conflict.
1571 — The Burning of Enryakuji
How the Burning Came About
When the Asai–Asakura alliance was defeated at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570, both clans retreated to Mt. Hiei and sought Enryakuji’s protection. Nobunaga demanded they be handed over. Enryakuji refused and continued supporting the fugitives — an act Nobunaga interpreted not as religious neutrality but as open political defiance.
On the twelfth day of the ninth month of Genki 2 (October 3, 1571), Nobunaga led a force of 30,000 onto Mt. Hiei. The temple complexes of Toto, Saito, and Yokawa were burned. The Konpon Chudo (central hall) and numerous other structures were reduced to ash. The Shincho Koki (Chronicle of Nobunaga) records that orders were given to spare neither old nor young, male nor female.
The majority of structures now visible at Enryakuji are reconstructions from after the burning, rebuilt with support from Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Iemitsu.
Was Nobunaga Really Anti-Buddhist?
The term “enemy of the Buddha” leveled at Nobunaga by Kennyo and others has shaped perceptions ever since. But a more measured judgment is warranted. Nobunaga built Sokken-ji temple within the walls of Azuchi Castle — its remains survive today as Soken-ji — and patronized Daitokuji. The targets of his military campaigns were consistently armed religious establishments or those that had allied with his enemies. There is no evidence he sought to abolish Buddhism as a doctrine.
The Ten-Year Siege — Road to Resolution
The Naval Battles at Kizugawa Mouth and the “Iron Ships” Debate
In Tensho 4 (1576), the Mori navy succeeded in running supplies through to Ishiyama Honganji (First Battle of Kizugawaguchi), temporarily relieving the siege. Nobunaga ordered the construction of ironclad ships (tekkoosen) in response. At the Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi in Tensho 6 (1578), these vessels reportedly overwhelmed the Mori fleet. The exact nature of these ships — whether fully iron-clad or merely reinforced — remains debated among historians.
Kennyo’s Withdrawal and the End of the Siege
By Tensho 7–8 (1579–1580), Nobunaga had tightened the siege considerably. Cut off from resupply and with no realistic prospect of relief, Kennyo accepted terms mediated by Emperor Ogimachi and vacated Ishiyama Honganji in the third month of Tensho 8 (1580). His son Kyonyo continued holding out until the eighth month, creating a rift that contributed to the eventual split of Honganji into two branches (Higashi and Nishi Honganji).
Azuchi Castle and Soken-ji — The Broader Picture
Nobunaga broke ground on Azuchi Castle in Tensho 4 (1576), five years after the burning of Enryakuji. The castle’s six-story donjon, unprecedented in Japanese architecture, was a political statement as much as a fortress. Within its precincts, Nobunaga founded Soken-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple, around Tensho 7 (1579). The act of building a temple inside his own castle is one of several facts that complicate the simple narrative of Nobunaga as anti-Buddhist.
After Nobunaga’s death at Honnoji in the sixth month of Tensho 10 (1582), Hideyoshi organized a grand memorial at Daitokuji, establishing the sub-temple Soken-in. The choice of Daitokuji — a temple Nobunaga had patronized — was deliberate: Hideyoshi was positioning himself as the legitimate heir to everything Nobunaga had built.
Summary — Visiting the Sites
At Enryakuji, most structures visible today postdate the 1571 burning. Allow at least half a day to walk the three zones (Toto, Saito, Yokawa). At Azuchi Castle (about 20 minutes’ walk from JR Azuchi Station), the view of Lake Biwa from the donjon platform conveys the strategic logic of Nobunaga’s position. Soken-ji within the castle grounds preserves a three-story pagoda and Niomon gate as Nationally Designated Important Cultural Properties.
At Daitokuji, the sub-temple Soken-in is normally closed but opens during spring and autumn special access periods. Honnoji (Nakagyo) houses Nobunaga’s mausoleum in its grounds.
Burned in 1571; present structures mostly post-Nobunaga
Built 1576; symbol of Nobunaga’s authority
Temple built by Nobunaga within Azuchi Castle
Grand memorial for Nobunaga; Soken-in sub-temple
Where Nobunaga died in 1582; his mausoleum is within the grounds
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people died in the burning of Enryakuji?
The primary source, the Shincho Koki, records that orders were given to kill all, regardless of age or sex, but does not state a death toll. Later sources cite figures such as “several thousand” or “3,000–4,000,” but none of these numbers can be verified against first-hand records. The scale of the destruction is not in doubt; the precise casualty count is.
Why did Ishiyama Honganji hold out for over a decade?
Three factors sustained Honganji’s resistance: the extraordinary cohesion and mobilization capacity of Ikko-shu followers (demonstrated by a century of controlling Kaga Province); the Mori navy’s ability to run supplies through the blockade until 1578; and the strategic benefit of the broader anti-Nobunaga coalition, which forced Nobunaga to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously.
Was Akechi Mitsuhide involved in burning Enryakuji?
In Genki 2 (1571), Akechi Mitsuhide was one of Nobunaga’s senior commanders and almost certainly participated in the Mt. Hiei operation. Some interpretations of the Honnoji Incident (Tensho 10, 1582) include psychological conflict over this participation as a contributing factor in Mitsuhide’s decision to rebel. The evidence, however, is circumstantial; asserting it as a primary cause is premature.
Last updated: May 23, 2026