What is known about the Ikko Ikki style of combat during the Sengoku Jidai, and where can I read more about them?

by Daybrake

My understanding of the Ikko Ikki (or Ikho Ikki - there seems to be some conjecture about the anglicised spelling) is that not only did they control a province in Japan, but they also had temples scattered around the country. I understand that they practiced a very specific type of Buddhism, and that they were monks first and foremost. However, I am struggling to find good sources that talk about their martial capabilities. They had some level of organization and real capabilities - how else would they hold off the Oda for so long - but I don't know exactly how they managed it. How did the Ikko Ikki function martially, and how were their troops trained? What kind of martial arts were practiced, if any?

ParallelPain

I do not believe there's any evidence that the Ikko Ikki had any special training or organization. They might have had a higher morale due to religious zeal, but that's conjecture. Negoro temple, who responded to Honganji's call to resist Oda Nobunaga, and Suzuki's mercenaries did have a lot of guns, thanks to their well-established position as gun merchants and mercenaries. But while they set the Oda back tactically a couple of times, they weren't really the reason Ishiyama Honganji held out for so long.

There are four reasons Ishiyama Honganji held out for so long.

  1. Its geographic position is very strong. The Nagashima Ikko Ikki (I believe it was) also put their knowledge of the local terrain to good use a couple of times (I don't buy the ninja stuff), but they didn't really hold on particularly long themselves.
  2. Kennyo (head of Honganji) was able to use his influence as head of Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism to mobilize a lot of supporters against the Oda forces. Even if we accept that the Shinchō kōki must have exaggerated their numbers, people answered his call not just around Honganji (modern Osaka) area, but also throughout the Ise peninsula, and later on Kaga (Ishikawa prefecture) and Ecchu (Toyama prefecture) provinces.
  3. Kennyo, again using his influence, was able to pull together significant anti-Oda alliance from anti-Oda daimyōs and "mercenary" bands again and again. These forces attacked Oda territories on all sides, at first catching Nobunaga completely by surprise. Nobunaga was not able to commit overwhelming forces against any one of the participants for many years. Kennyo also seemed to have a knack of finding new allies to replace fallen ones, and even after the situation turned overwhelmingly in Nobunaga's favour after Takeda Shingen's death 1573, Kennyo was able to hold on through new allies until 1580, when there's nobody left he could ally against the Oda.
  4. Kennyo's shrewd diplomatic and political skills also allowed him to negotiate a few (admittedly short) ceasefires with Nobunaga during their long conflict. It wasn't a ten-year-long siege, but a on-and-off thing.

Also, after Honganji surrendered, Nobunaga fired Sakuma Nobumori (one of Nobunaga's longest-serving retainers) for (among other reasons) sitting on his ass and doing nothing during the last few years when he was in charge of the siege. Whether or not this firing was reasonable, Nobunaga certainly thought Nobumori was not fighting, negotiating, or trying any subterfuge or stratagem against Honganji. So that might be a factor as well.