Warrior Monks of Feudal Japan--They Did Not Always Practice Peace.

Before the Tokugawa clan finally unified Japan around 1600 C.E., warfare was a constant reality of Japanese life. Even the Shinto Buddhist monks of Japan were not exempt from the endless battles. From the end of the 10th century to the beginning of the 17th century, the temples of Japan outfitted armies of warrior monks, ready to bring their religion out of the cloister and into the field of battle.

The armed monks of Japan fought other religious rivals and joined the armies of various Daimyo warlords. Populist warrior monks also set up camp in feudal Japan: the Lotus Sect and the Ikko-ikki became the bane of many a warlord. The age of the warrior monks seemed to only end when the powerful Daimyo, Oda Nobunaga, sieged and burned multiple warrior monk temples and strongholds.

Read more about the fascinating warrior monks  of Japan here at warhistoryonline.com.