Sōhei

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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 Heian period (794 – 1185) and became prominent through the Kamakura (1185 – 1333) and Muromachi periods (1336 – 1573). They typically belonged to powerful temples, such as Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei and Kōfuku-ji in Nara, and were considered part of the monastery staff.

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. 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, 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.

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, although there were exceptions, as some monks were also trained in wielding katanas or more unconventional weapons.

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 daimyōs. 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.

The sōhei's power and influence declined after the rise of centralized samurai governments and Oda Nobunaga's destruction of Enryaku-ji in 1571, which broke the most powerful sōhei organization. By the early Edo period, under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, warrior-monks as a major force had effectively disappeared.

Appearances

• Echoes of History – Shadows (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)