The warrior monks were adherents of Buddhism and between the 10th and 16th centuries they were very powerful and were a match for the samurai who courted their military skills but also sought their destruction. They were also at the forefront of technological development and the monks of Negoroji in particular were renowned for their skills with firearms.

The Japanese word 'Sohei' is roughly translated into English as monk or priest ('So') and soldier or warrior ('hei'.) From the 10th century the powerful monastic institutions of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained large private armies of these warriors, although whether there were mercenaries and lay-brothers amongst their number is another question. Certainly many kinds of people were attracted to these religious armies. Some samurai were warrior monks, the most famous examples being the mighty daimyo Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin whose surnames are Buddhist appellations. However, they lived largely secular lives.

When Buddhism came to Japan via China (probably around 500AD) it did not supplant the native Shinto religion, more complemented it as the Buddhists regarded the kami as representations of Buddha. It also had very prominent benefactors in the Japanese imperial family who encouraged its worship. By 710 two Buddhist temples in Nara, Todaji and Kofukuji began to enjoy considerable political influence. In about 788 another temple was founded by Saicho called Enryakuji on Mount Hiei, a little to the north east of Kyoto, and when the imperial capital moved there six years later this temple became recognised as the city's protector because according to feng shui evil could attack from the north-east and it was the temple's job to guard against this threat, hence the bestowing of the title of chingo kokka no dojo or 'the temple for the pacification and protection of the state'.

Enryakuji expanded over the coming years, enjoying its privileged status and support among the Kyoto aristocracy who often showered gifts upon them. Saicho also founded his own sect of Buddhism called Tendai which ran independently from Nara. By the 11th century the Enryakuji temple complex on Mount Hiei consisted of 3,000 buildings and its wealth allowed it to gain property and other assets elsewhere in Japan. Although the temple was largely independent from secular concerns the emperor could appoint its zasu or head abbot. The choice of zasu did not go down too well with some monks and feuding between rivals often occurred leading to brawls and armed conflict. The feuding did not stop there however. The monks of Kofukuji lost several of their members to the monks of Todaiji in a dispute over land in 969 and a year later Enryakuji was in a dispute with Miidera over the Gion shrine in Kyoto. The latter case led to the chief abbot, Ryogen, maintaining his own private army on Mount Hiei and this was the first of the warrior monk armies. Yet it is not known what this army was exactly because his own monastic rules dictated that monks were not allowed to carry weapons and were forbidden to leave the temple compound during their twelve-year period of training. Perhaps Ryogen waved the rules to allow for this army or he maintained a garrison of mercenaries.

Between the 10th and 14th centuries violence was common in the feuds between the temples of Nara and Mount Hiei but they were not over religious affairs, rather politics although the outcome was often what one would expect in war. For example, in 1081 the monks of Enryakuji joined with Miidera against the monks of Kofukuji in Narra. This resulted in Miidera being burned and the monks of Kofukuji carrying off much booty in the process. And in 1113 Enryakuji showed their objection to the appointment of a rival abbot by burning the Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto. Mount Hiei again allied with Miidera against Nara in 1117.

The warrior monks' chief enemies were always the samurai who were eager to recruit them for their armies. They fought in the Gempei War of the 12th century for both the Taira and Minamoto clans and while Mount Hiei remained impassive in the 13th century they came out on the side of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanbokucho Wars in the 14th century but gained little for this loyalty. During the 16th century Enryakuji joined the Asakura and Asai families against the mighty samurai warlord Oda Nobunaga. At the battle of Anegawa the various factions met but Oda was victorious. The Asakura and Asai clans were not destroyed and came back for seconds later that year. This time Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Oda's greatest generals, was despatched to meet them and again they were defeated and driven into the mountains where they would have been annihilated had the monks of Mount Hiei not come to their aid. Nobunaga vowed to destroy the monks if they entered into a formal alliance with the two clans he had defeated at Anegawa. When his threats met with indifference he brought an army to Mount Hiei and an assault began in earnest on 29 September 1571. His objective was to completely destroy Enryakuji and this threat was very real when the town of Sakamoto at the foot of the mountain was burned down and sacked. Thirty thousand soldiers then swept through the paths of Mount Hiei killing anyone and everyone they met in a ruthless purge which was to mark one of Nobunaga's most blackest acts. Finally the complex of three thousand buildings that was Enryakuji was reduced to ash. Twenty thousand lost their lives that day and the warrior monks of Mount Hiei were no more. Enryakuji remained a ghostly ruin during Nobunaga's reign, probably as a deterrent, until Hideyoshi rebuilt the complex but only with 125 buildings. Hideyoshi continued the fight against the monks of Negoroji and destroyed their temple. By 1603 and the coronation of Tokugawa Ieyasu as shogun the campaigns against the sohei was complete and no warrior monks were left in Japan.

Monastic Power

When the warrior monks of Enryakuji descended down from Mount Hiei to Kyoto the imperial family, and not a few citizens, were terrified by the experience because they carried with them the sacred mikoshi. This religious artefact was said to house the spirit of Sanno the mountain king and anyone who struck it was said to be marked for death. The mikoshi itself was carried by twenty monks on poles not unlike a litter. Sometimes the monks would leave it in the streets and return to their temple until their grievances were addressed. However, in the age of the samurai, in the latter half of the 12th century, the monks found it harder to intimidate people like this. A notable incident occurred when Taira Kiyomori shot an arrow at the mikoshi but was not struck down by a curse from the angered kami. In a fury seven thousand sohei descended on Kyoto. As the samurai were now in power, as opposed to the imperial court, it was deemed acceptable for Kiyomori to pay a fine for his offence. From this moment on the power of the monks began to decline.

The warrior monks advanced again on the capital with the mikoshi and to the imperial palace. An armed guard of samurai barred their way at the northern gate led by Minamoto Yorimasa, who had a healthy respect for the religion of the monks', their sacred mikoshi and their prowess in battle. This samurai humbled himself before it, rinsed his mouth and paid respect before the mikoshi's sacred emblem. Because of this the monks decided to attack another gate but this time mounted samurai were waiting for them and they had no respect like Yorismasa. As soon as the monks advanced they were met with a hail of arrows and several of their number were slain as they fled from the struggle. The mikoshi was hit many times in the encounter and was left where the monks abandoned it.

Another form of intimidation used by the monks was denouncing offenders at the Kasuga shrine in Kyoto, which was a fate worse than death. They also used their prayer beads to pronounce a curse on anyone who offended them.

Clothing

The kimono was the typical garment worn by warrior monks, a dressing gown-like garment with long wide sleeves, usually reached down to below the knee and was white, and more than one was often worn. Over this item of dress a black jacket made from a stiff, gauzy, material was worn and could be sleeveless. For trousers kobakama were worn which would be tied just below the knee and then at the base of the calf to ensure that the material would be secure and in no danger of catching on anything. Footwear consisted of either the usual straw sandals or waraji; or wooden clogs called geta. The latter were carved from a single piece of wood and consisted of a sole with two strips that produced a raised platform for the feet. The monk's head was shaven and over it he wore a white headcowl which was so arranged to reveal only the face or just the upper part of it. Alternatively a white hachimaki or headband would be worn. To complete his priestly appearance the monk carried Buddhist prayer beads.

Armour

The often violent nature of the political lives of the warrior monks necessitated the use of armour. The do-maru (literally 'torso round'), the cuirass worn by the common soldier of Japan, was typically worn under the outermost kimono. This cuirass looked not unlike the o-yoroi but its main difference was that it wrapped around the body and was tied under the right arm. It was also relatively light and gave greater ease of movement than the o-yoroi, which was a suit warrior monks also wore. This was the box-like armour favoured by samurai until the 14th century but its large sode or shoulder guards would have been quite bulky and cumbersome to wear under a kimono. Extra protection for the arms was provided by a kote or armoured sleeve should the monk require it. They did not usually wear helmets because of their headcowl. This entire ensemble gave the sohei the appearance of samurai and pictures of them fighting such foes made them almost indistinguishable from these aristocratic warriors.

Weapons

The sohei used a wide variety of weapons but they were probably most famous for the naginata. This was a glaive weapon, a long shaft with a blade attachment which varied in shape and length. The blade was forged to the usual high quality standard and between the 11th and 12th centuries the longer blade was preferred. This weapon was known as the shobuzukuri naginata and also had a shorter shaft. Other blades were much broader and resembled Chinese halberds. Hanging from a belt around the monk's waist was a katana worn in tachi style, that is with the blade facing down rather than up. Thrust through the belt a tanto or dagger might also be carried. Along with hand-to-hand combat weapons many warrior monks were skilled archers and gunners, using the Japanese longbow and arquebus respectively.

Campaigns

The following is not so much a campaign but a remarkable incident recorded in the Heike Monogatari and it could have come straight from a Hollywood film. During the the fighting of the first battle of Uji in 1180 a lone warrior monk called Gochin no Tajima stood fast on the bridge his forces had dismantled earlier to prevent pursuit from the Taira samurai. Tajima whirled his naginata about him like a propeller, deflecting the arrows shot at him by the Taira and evading others by ducking and diving. At this show the enemy samurai watched with admiration and Tajima was known as 'Tajima the arrow-cutter' because of his incredible skill and agility.

Further Reading

Secrets of the Samurai - Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook.

Warriors of Medieval Japan - Stephen Turnbull.