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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:''{{PAGENAME}}''}}{{Era|Occupations}}{{WP-REAL}} {{Imageneed|Assassin's Creed: Shadows}} thumb|250px|A ''sōhei'' during the Sengoku period '''''Sōhei''''' (僧兵) were warrior-monks in medieval Japan. Buddhist clergy who trained and fought as soldiers, ''sōhei'' first emerged during the {{Wiki|Heian period}} (794 – 1185) and became prominent through the {{Wiki|Kamakura period|Kamakura}}..."

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[[File:ACSH DB Warrior Monks.png|thumb|250px|A ''sōhei'' during the Sengoku period]]
'''''Sōhei''''' (僧兵) were warrior-[[monk]]s in medieval [[Japan]]. [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] clergy who trained and fought as [[soldier]]s, ''sōhei'' first emerged during the {{Wiki|Heian period}} (794 – 1185) and became prominent through the {{Wiki|Kamakura period|Kamakura}} (1185 – 1333) and {{Wiki|Muromachi period}}s (1336 – 1573).<ref name="Wiki">{{WP|Sōhei}}</ref><ref name="Database">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Warrior Monks (Sohei)]]</ref> They typically belonged to powerful [[temple]]s, such as [[Enryaku-ji]] on [[Mount Hiei]] and [[Kōfuku-ji]] in [[Nara]], and were considered part of the monastery staff.<ref name="Database"/>

==History==
In medieval Japan, temples were religious centers that also controlled vast estates, wealth, and influence. Rivalries between Buddhist sects or threats from [[samurai]] clans pushed some temples to maintain their own militarized clergy, known as ''sōhei''.<ref name="Wiki"/> Initially, these warrior-monks were trained to patrol the land and deal with any threat to the temples or the estates (荘園 or 庄園, ''{{Wiki|shōen}}'') that financed them. They also held the authority to make the peasants working the lands pay their share, or pacify crowds of monks who gathered to protest controversial measures taken by the central authority.<ref name="Database"/>

Most ''sōhei'' aimed to deter hostiles through their sheer presence alone; as such, they typically wore long robes and stoles that covered their faces, giving them a fearsome appearance. They also carried weapons, most famously the ''[[naginata]]'',<ref name="Database"/> although there were exceptions, as some monks were also trained in wielding ''[[katana]]s'' or more unconventional weapons.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Warrior Monks]]</ref>

As the temples' influence grew, so did the ''sōhei''{{'}}s strength and reputation. By the Muromachi period, the ''sōhei'' had become a fully-fledged military force, able to rival the armies of local ''[[daimyō]]s''.<ref name="Wiki"/><ref name="Database"/> They also became deeply involved in military and political struggles, often acting like private armies for their temples and participating in civil conflicts, such as the [[Genpei War]], or regional disputes.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Todai-ji]]</ref>

The ''sōhei''{{'}}s power and influence declined after the rise of centralized samurai governments and [[Oda Nobunaga]]'s [[Siege of Mount Hiei|destruction]] of Enryaku-ji in 1571, which broke the most powerful ''sōhei'' organization.<ref>''[[Echoes of History]] – Shadows'' – Civil war in feudal Japan: The Sengoku period</ref><ref>''[[Echoes of History]] – Shadows'' – Oda Nobunaga</ref> By the early Edo period, under the rule of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], warrior-monks as a major force had effectively disappeared.<ref name="Database"/>

==Appearances==
*''[[Echoes of History]] – Shadows'' {{1stm}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' {{1st}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{ACSH}}
[[Category:Occupations]]
[[Category:Monks]]
[[Category:Japan]]

Sōhei - Revision history