Nagashima Ikko Uprising

The Nagashima Ikko Uprising—The "Impregnable Fortress" That Obstructed Nobunaga's Quest for Hegemony

Nagashima in Ise Province (present-day Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture) was situated in a complex marshland where the Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi Rivers converged. The Jodo Shinshu followers in this region had formed a strong community since the late medieval period and established an armed defensive system centered on Nagashima Daibo (Ganshoji Temple). The Nagashima Ikko Uprising from Genki 1 (1570) through Tensho 2 (1574) was one of the largest "anti-Nobunaga forces" that threatened Nobunaga's conquest of Owari and Ise. Despite Nobunaga's three attempts to subdue it, it remained an impregnable fortress that would not yield easily.

What is the Ikko Uprising—A Medieval Armed Faith Community

The term "Ikko Uprising" refers collectively to armed communities formed by the collective organization of Jodo Shinshu followers. The term "ikki" refers to collective action based on an oath or covenant, and does not necessarily mean "rebellion." However, during the Sengoku period, Ikko uprisings functioned as political and military forces opposing daimyo power.

The core of the Ikko Uprising's strength lay in "absolute unity forged by faith." The fighting spirit of followers willing to die for the Buddhist Law was qualitatively different from Sengoku daimyo armies composed mainly of mercenaries and ashigaru (light infantry). Religious communities unwilling to fear death displayed particularly strong resistance in siege warfare.

The geographic conditions of Nagashima also enhanced the defensive power of the Ikko forces. Nagashima, situated in the "wajū" (enclosed region) area where the Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi Rivers intricately converged, was terrain where foot-based invasion was extremely difficult. One reason Nobunaga repeatedly suffered setbacks in his attempts to capture Nagashima was precisely this water-marsh terrain.

The First and Second Nagashima Campaigns—Nobunaga's Struggles and the Death of His Brother

In May of Genki 2 (1571), Nobunaga invaded Nagashima for the first time (the First Nagashima Campaign). However, warfare in the marshland proved extremely difficult, and during the retreat, Nobunaga's forces suffered a surprise attack from Nagashima forces and lost many soldiers. In this battle, Nobunaga's brother Oda Nobuoki was killed by Nagashima followers—a painful blow (Nobuoki was surrounded by Ikko forces at Ogoe Castle near Kuwana and took his own life). The death of his brother deepened Nobunaga's hatred for the Nagashima Ikko Uprising and hardened his resolve for total annihilation.

In Tensho 1 (1573), the Second Nagashima Campaign was launched, but it too failed to deliver a decisive blow. In the face of Nagashima's complex waterways and solid defensive system, Nobunaga's forces could not achieve significant gains.

During this period, the Nagashima Ikko followers coordinated with Honganji Temple's Kennyo and formed a key part of the encirclement against Nobunaga. Genki 3 was also the year when Takeda Shingen deployed his Western Campaign, placing Nobunaga in a situation where he was surrounded from the east, west, and south. The Nagashima Ikko Uprising constituted an important cornerstone of that "encirclement."

The Nagashima Ikko Uprising and Swords—Where Faith and Blades Meet

In the Ikko forces' armaments, long-hafted spears and naginata were the primary weapons, though swords naturally played an important role as well. The swords used by Nagashima Ikko followers are believed to have been primarily products of sword makers from the Mie and Aichi regions. This region was under the influence of the Mino tradition and was known as a center for producing practical swords.

The swords worn by Nobunaga's officers and soldiers were often of the highest quality of the time. Prominent generals such as Shibata Katsuie, Takigawa Kazutoshi, and Hashiba Hideyoshi frequently received fine swords as gifts from Nobunaga, and the Nagashima campaigns saw the deployment of what might be called the Oda forces' "sword collection" of superior blades.

Nobunaga utilized swords and tea utensils as political gifts through his "tea ceremony politics," and the Nagashima campaigns were also arenas of "politics wielded through swords." While the specific swords Nobunaga granted to his retainers as rewards after the conquest of Nagashima are not well documented, it is certain that through such post-war reward systems, fine swords passed into the hands of various generals.

The Third Nagashima Campaign (Tensho 2)—From "Permission to Withdraw" to "Burning Alive"

In July of Tensho 2 (1574), Nobunaga launched the Third Nagashima Campaign with a massive army (said to number around 80,000). This campaign mobilized a naval force and thoroughly sealed off river routes. He surrounded the three strongholds of Nagashima, Yanagashima, and Ōtori and gradually strangled them through siege of attrition.

After months of siege, the Nagashima garrison exhausted their provisions and sued for surrender. Nobunaga offered the condition of "sparing their lives and permitting them to withdraw"—at least so the accounts claim. The defenders believed this promise, laid down their weapons, and attempted to leave.

But then Nobunaga's forces moved. They surrounded the departing followers and set fire to them. Regardless of sex or age, nearly all those who had sheltered in the fortress were burned alive. The death toll is said to have numbered in the tens of thousands. Nobunaga subsequently pursued those attempting to escape and literally "rooted out" the Ikko forces throughout the Nagashima region.

This incident was recorded with shock in contemporary historical documents. It was a moment when Nobunaga's strategic rationality and ruthlessness reached their apex, and it became one of the incidents that established the image of "Nobunaga as a cruel dictator" in later generations.

The Historical Significance of the Nagashima Massacre—Sengoku "Eradication" and Sword Culture

The "rooting out" of the Nagashima Ikko Uprising was an instance that demonstrated in the most gruesome form what the collision between "armed faith" and "secular power's violence" would ultimately produce during the Sengoku period.

Behind Nobunaga's thorough destruction of the Nagashima Ikko Uprising lay not merely military rationality, but a complex of personal hatred over "avenging his brother," awareness of the fundamental threat that "faith communities will not submit to secular power," and political calculation aimed at "intimidating other Ikko forces through an example."

From the perspective of sword culture, the Nagashima campaign holds the paradoxical meaning of being "a scene where swords were not wielded." The slaughter was carried out not by sword but by fire. Yet in the preceding siege warfare, the fine swords worn by Nobunaga's generals embodied "the symbol of power," "organizational discipline," and "the mark of victory." The burning alive at Nagashima was a scene where Nobunaga deliberately cast aside the "etiquette of direct confrontation" that swords symbolized.

After Nobunaga's conquest of Nagashima in Tensho 2, he went on to destroy the Ikko forces in Echizen Province (Tensho 3, 1575). The full confrontation with Ishiyama Honganji continued until Tensho 8 (1580), but the "rooting out" at Nagashima was a pivotal historical turning point that decisively accelerated that process.