The conventional image of a Buddhist monk
is that of an ascetic, devoutly pacifist man. Yet contrary to that, the history of Buddhism
is often defined by violence. Nowhere is this more evident than in Feudal
Japan, where the followers of Buddhism carved a bloody reputation as mercenaries, holy warriors,
and revolutionaries. Welcome to our video on the warrior monks
of the rising sun, where we will explain how a series of simple monasteries became some
of Japan’s greatest military powerhouses. Staying informed is crucial in our times and
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below to subscribe to Morning Brew today. The Warrior Monks of Japan were known traditionally
as Sōhei, and were active in the nation from the 10th to the 16th centuries, centralizing
themselves in monasteries, which were equal parts temples and fortresses. In function, the Sōhei were not unlike the
Knightly Orders operating in Europe and the Levant around the same period. But while the Templars and Hospitallers fought
in the service of Lords and Kings, their Japanese equivalents, for the most part, bowed to no
man. The temples of the Sohei maintained a status
as de facto independent enclaves, and as such, were the only pockets of Feudal Japan free
of the rule of the Samurais and their Daimyos. The Sohei were never a unified polity, but
instead a series of independent temple-orders, many of whom belonged to different denominations
of Buddhism. However, there were some consistencies across
the board: to begin with, Buddha was not a single man, but a title which means ‘Awakened
one’. They believed many souls in Asia had attained
Nirvana in their lifetimes and achieved Buddhahood. Across Japan, most sects of Buddhissm are
offshoots of Pure Land Buddhism, which centers around the worship of Amitābha, a Celestial
Buddha also known as the Buddha Amida. Amidan Buddhism espouses that the mortal world
is irrevocably corrupt, and that the only way to escape it is to die and be reborn into
the celestial realm of the Buddha Amida. Since mortal life was inevitably depraved,
the Monks of the Amida did not place much importance on meditation, celibacy, or earthly
detachment, instead allowing themselves to enjoy the sins of mortality. As such, Japanese Buddhism diverged greatly
from the ideas of non-violence the faith had been founded on. For example, Shinshu Buddhism, a subsect of
the Amitābha rite, promised that a celestial paradise awaited any who died in battle. Other denominations of Amidan Buddhism in
Japan had similar tenets, making it possible for Buddhist Monks across the isles to reconcile
their faith with a life of warfare and violence. Generally speaking, life in a Sōhei monastery
was more akin to a barracks than a spiritual cloister. We gain a window into the day to day lives
of these Warrior Monks through the 16th century accounts of the Portuguese Jesuit, Casper
Vilela, who observed the customs of the Buddhist Temple of Negoro-ji. Vilela claimed that the monks there rebuked
the ascetic life so often associated with Buddhism, and openly enjoyed alcohol and the
company of women. Vilela watched with awe as each monk crafted
seven arrows a day, and practiced with the bow and the arquebus once a week. Their skill in metallurgy was remarkable,
and according to the Jesuit’s testimony: “could slice through a man in armour as
easily as a butcher carves a rump steak”. Warrior-Monks were fearless and emotionally
detached. Death was as natural to them as the sun and
the stars, and even their brothers who perished in training accidents were regarded with little
emotion. In battle, they were as skilled as any Samurai,
most famous for their deadliness with a Naginata, while also being hawk-eyed with the Japanese
Longbow, and in later centuries, the Arquebus. Now that we’ve covered a synopsis of what
a Sōhei is, it's time to tell the story of their rise to power and eventual downfall. The Buddhist Faith originated in India, and
over time its practices spread along the trade routes of the silk road. In 554, it reached the isles of the Rising
Sun, via the Korean Kingdom of Baekje [bak’jay]. Rather than conflicting with Japan’s native
animist faith of Shintoism, the new faith blended well with the old, and soon, Buddhism
permeated into every level of Japanese society. In this early era the Emperors of the Yamato
Dynasty were still the absolute authorities in Japan, and despite claiming descent from
the Shinto Goddess of the Sun, they were quick to incorporate the Buddhist faith into their
society. During the Nara Period in the 8th century,
the Imperial Court patronized the construction of Buddhist shrines, particularly around the
old capital of Nara, where the seven greatest monasteries were erected. A temple was, in theory, an independent entity,
but the Emperor had the final say in appointing its head abbot, or zasu. Over time, these temples accumulated great
political influence among the nobles, who endowed great wealth upon the monks who attended
to their spiritual and personal needs. By the early Heian period starting in 788,
the most prominent of these monasteries was Enryaku-ji. It was founded by the Monk Saicho, who established
the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, and according to legend, was the first to bring Tea to Japan. Perched austerely atop the sacred Mount Hiei,
it overlooked the new Imperial city of Kyoto, an auspicious sign of the role it would play
in many wars to come. The ancient Buddhist texts undoubtedly mandate
a peaceful existence, but like with other religions, wealth and power made many a priest
willing to warp the interpretations of scripture for political gain. Just like the early schisms of Christianity
and Islam, the Buddhist temples of Japan soon started struggling to maintain their political
primacy with the Imperial court, and to get favourable installments of Head Abbots by
the Emperor. At first, belligerent Monks would assert their
will by parading non-violently down the streets of Kyoto while carrying Mikoshi - sacred palanquins
meant to intimidate superstitious officials into doing their bidding. These protests soon escalated into fist-fights
between opposing factions, and before long, armed conflict. In 970 the head abbot of Enryaku-ji ordered
the creation of a standing army of monks to be permanently stationed in his temple to
protect his coven’s interests. Soon, other monasteries began doing the same,
and an arms race ensued. It was here that the era of the warrior monks
truly began. The late Heian period was in many ways defined
by constant and bitter feuding between the islands’ great Buddhist monasteries. Among them, the most fearsome and ruthless
were the priests on Mount Hiei, whose Sohei were the terror of both the Imperial Government
and rival temples. Indeed, the Imperial Court tried many times
to pacify the unruly battle-monks of Enryaku-ji, usually by appointing a more cooperative priest
from their rival monastery of Miidera to be their abbot. Yet, they’d find each attempt thwarted. Seven times the Imperial Court would try to
impose a Miidera Monk as head abbot at Enryaku-ji, but each time, an army of warrior-monks would
descend down Mount Hiei and convince the civil administrators to overrule the appointment. The Imperial court was largely powerless to
stop Monks of different temples from settling their own matters between themselves with
violence. It didn’t take much to set off these conflicts
either, as minor etiquette slights at communal shrine festivals were enough to provoke violent
raids. While all the major temples committed major
acts of organized violence, Enryaku-ji was usually the most fearsome, invading and burning
down the temple of their bitter rivals in Miidera on four separate occasions between
1081 and 1141. In 1113, those same Monks had laid siege to
and burned down the Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto, which was essentially on the doorstep
of the Imperial Palace. This was a testament to how powerful the warrior-monks
had become and how readily they flaunted the Emperors’ authority. In a famous anecdote described in the chronicle
of Heike Monogatari, Emperor Go Shirakawa-in forlornly remarks: “There are three things
beyond my control: The rapids on the Kamo river, the dice at gambling, and the monks
on the Mountain.” While the Monks feuded among themselves, the
Imperial Court in Kyoto declined, and the ambitious Samurai had begun to establish themselves
as the true power in the country. In 1180, war erupted between the Samurai-clans
of Taira and Minamoto over who would puppeteer the Emperor, and therefore control all of
Japan. At this time, the Monks in their monasteries
were among the most well trained and disciplined soldiers in the country, and as a result,
both of the warring clans tried to court them onto their side with elaborate gifts of rice
and silk. Enticed by personal gain, the Head Abbots
of Miidera and the Nara Temples raised their naginatas and marched with the Minamoto. Meanwhile, Enryaku-ji’s Monks remained on
their mountain, refusing to join their rival temples. This turned out to be the wisest option, for
at the battle of Uji, the Minamoto and their Sohei allies were soundly defeated. The Taira Samurai spent the next three years
burning a bloody path of vengeance against the temples who had borne arms against them,
storming and incinerating Miidera, as well as setting the entire city of Nara to the
torch in 1183, and all seven of its great monasteries with it. While the Minamoto clan would eventually surmount
their foes and establish the Kamakura Shogunate ruling Japan, the damage that the Taira had
done to the monasteries was catastrophic. Enryakuji was the only bastion of fighting
priests that remained. The age of the warrior-monk was not yet over,
but the age of the Samurai had begun. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, Japan
was a nation increasingly dominated by the Shogun, a military dictator ruling over a
caste of Daimyo lords, and their hereditary, Bushido-driven warriors. Nevertheless, the martial lay brothers of
Buddha were not willing to fade into obscurity, and carved a place for themselves in this
new world order of hereditary warlords. Over time, the monasteries recovered from
the devastation of the Genpei wars, rebuilding temples, and carving a healthy economic niche
for themselves in the process. By 1280, Enryaku-ji monks controlled 80% of
the moneylenders and Sake brewers in Kyoto. Concerned only with profits, they were not
above sending armed monks into the Imperial city to persuade debtors to pay their dues. We should take this moment to appreciate the
image of a Buddhist monk shaking down merchants like a seedy urban loanshark. As the great monasteries slowly rebuilt their
standing armies and political influence, a great shift would once more rock the land
of the Rising Sun to its core. In 1467, the conclusion of the Onin war saw
the power of the ruling Ashikaga Shogunate crippled. Japan shattered, ushering in a lawless age
of warring Samurai clans; the infamous Sengoku Jidai. For the most part, the various warrior-monk
orders remained cloistered in their fortress-temples while the petty Daimyo lords cut each other
to pieces in the fields outside. But while the well armed and disciplined Sohei
could assert their neutrality against the Samurai, the same was not true for many less
fortunate people. Life as a Japanese peasant in the Sengoku
Jidai was not pleasant. Even in peace-time, any who did not show absolute
obedience to the Samurai could be legally cut down by a katana on the spot. In war, the haughty warrior-caste showed even
less regard for the lives of the farmers and fishermen who earned them their koku. The peasant’s lot was a morbid one, and
only needed a single spark to light a revolution. In the 1480s, a Monk named Rennyo had risen
to prominence as the head priest of the temple of Hongan-ji in Kyoto, spreading the worship
of a sect of Buddhism known as Shinshu. Fearing his growing influence as a threat
to their power, the Monks of Enryaku-ji burned the temple to the ground. Rennyo fled to Kaga Province, finding common
cause with the local peasants, who had long been suffering from the brutal realities of
Samurai rule. Under his leadership, the common folk took
up arms and threw the Samurai out of the province, establishing an Independent Buddhist theocracy
known as the Ikko Ikki, marking the first time in history that any part of Japan was
not directly or indirectly ruled by either Imperial Courtiers or a Samurai Daimyo. The Ikko Ikki were not warrior-Monks per say,
instead being made up mainly of peasant mobs, and even some disillusioned Samurai. However, they were led primarily by Buddhist
Priests, and had a deeply martial culture - a necessity in fending off the greedy Daimyo. Their laws revolved principally on the precepts
of Shinshu Buddhism, which they held supreme over the laws of Emperors or Shoguns. In function, the Ikko Ikki were Holy Warriors. Over the next century the zealous peasants
seized land in Nagashima and Ishiyama Honganji, and established firm strongholds in three
fortress temples in the province of Mikawa. Fighting ferociously with Buddha Amida’s
name upon their lips, it seemed very possible that they could fulfill their mandate to end
the Samurai tyranny. However, the more powerful the Ikko Ikki became,
the more ire they drew from the surrounding lords, who were willing to stop at nothing
to put down this existential threat to their social order. The consolidation of Mikawa put the Ikko Ikki
on the very doorstep of the Matsudaira Samurai Clan, ruled by a young Daimyo we know today
as a Tokugawa Ieyasu. This future unifier of Japan was untested
in battle. It would be his clashes with the buddhist
peasant army that would temper him in a baptism of fire and blood. The Ikko Ikki fought him with unrelenting
fury, but Ieyasu managed to defeat them at the battle of Azukizaka in 1564, pushing them
out of Mikawa and reducing their temples to ash. Meanwhile, another Samurai firebrand known
as Oda Nobunaga was carving a bloody path of conquest across Japan. As Daimyo after Daimyo fell to the great warlord,
surviving enclaves of Ikko Ikki continued to ardently hold out against the great conqueror’s
armies. Meanwhile back in Kyoto, a new, but more traditional
order of Sohei warrior monks had risen to prominence. They were known as the Lotus sect, and by
the year 1500 had entrenched themselves in 21 fortress-temples throughout the Imperial
city. Generally more amicable to the Samurai, they
had even defended Kyoto on their behalf against the Ikko Ikki when the peasant army had tried
to take the city in 1528. One thing they had not accounted for however,
was the Monks of Enryaku-ji: the Mountain Monks saw the Lotus warriors as insolent upstarts. In 1534 the Monks from Hiei stormed down their
hills and, like their ancestors before them, waged a campaign of brutality upon their sectarian
rivals. All 21 Lotus temples were incinerated in the
merciless ambush campaign, and a staggering 58,000 adherents of the sect were massacred. In launching an attack this brazen, Enryaku-ji
had earned the attention of the Samurai clans. Knowing they could no longer remain isolationist,
the monks sought an alliance with the Asai and Asakura families. However, these two clans had the dubious distinction
of becoming the enemies of the ruthless uniter himself, Oda Nobunaga. In 1571, the invincible warlord warned Enryaku-ji
of the fate that would befall their temple if they persisted in their alliance with their
doomed allies, but having defied Emperors and Shoguns for centuries, the Monks rebuked
Nobunaga’s threats. Thus, Nobunaga set out to accomplish what
so many had failed to do before him. With a massive army of 30,000 he attacked
the sacred hillside of mount Hiei. Although the Monks fought fiercely, it was
a doomed struggle against a massive, disciplined, and utterly ruthless Samurai army. Before long, the ancient temple itself was
engulfed in flames. While some monks fought to the bitter end,
others calmly recited their ancient Buddhist mantras, before committing themselves to the
flames. With Enryaku-ji utterly annihilated, the last
bastion of Japan truly free of Samurai rule was the remnant of the Ikko Ikki. Soon, Nobunaga brought his armies to bear
on their temple-strongholds of Nagashima and Ishiyama Hongan-ji, which he attacked simultaneously. The holy warriors put up a bitter, stubborn
struggle. Twice Nobunaga’s armies threw themselves
upon the walls of Nagashima, but twice the ardent peasant-monks drove them back with
fusillades of deadly Arquebus fire. Only on the third attempt did the Oda Samurai
finally breach the complex, massacring the tens of thousands of zealots inside. Ishiyama Hongan-ji, however, continued to
hold out. While its walls were never breached, its head
abbot surrendered in 1580 when the supplies in his temple had been depleted. He had fended off the great Daimyo’s siege
for ten years. Oda Nobunaga died just two years later, betrayed
by a trusted general. However, with the fall of the last great Ikko
Ikki fortresses, the fate of Japan had passed out of the hands of Priests, and was now firmly
in the palms of the Samurai. While scattered buddhist sects would persist
as minor entities for a few more decades to come, the age of the warrior monk was over. When Tokugawa Ieyasu finally unified Japan
in 1600, society was draconically reordered, and only Samurai were allowed to bear arms,
upon punishment of death if anyone else attempted to do so. With that, the tradition of militant Buddhism
that had endured for over 600 years was done. We are planning more videos on the history
of Japan, so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and have pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to
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we will catch you on the next one.
As always, I’d rather recommend The Teeth and Claws of Buddha as an in depth treatment of the issue, far removed from the popular stereotypes:
So much for the not killing precept. Overall, it seems that they were missing the point.