Database: Negoro-ji

Negoro-ji, a temple established by followers of the Shingon school of Buddhism, was founded in 1140 on Mount Negoro. In 1290, the temple was relocated to a mountain overlooking the Kii River but kept its original name. In the early 16th century, a class of warrior monks, known as the Negoro-shū or “people of Negoro," established their headquarters at Negoro-ji with additional forces at Chishaku-in, an annex temple. They were an impressive military force, with blacksmiths able to produce high quality muskets as early as the 1550s. By the 1570s, they were reported to have 3,000 musketeers at a time when Nobunaga commanded only 600. The Negoro-shū were not technically an ikki, as they were organized around a Shingon temple, but shared some characteristics. Like other ikki of the time, they were self-governing and not subject to the authority of a lord. The Portuguese missionary Luís Fróis described them as "a republic of monks."

In 1585, Hideyoshi attacked and destroyed Negoro-ji. He could not tolerate the existence of this independent entity that did not recognize his authority. The temple was rebuilt in the early 17th century and became the center of the Shingi school of esoteric Shingon Buddhism.