Sōhei (literally, ‘priest soldiers’; often translated as ‘warrior monk’) refers particularly to the fighting men associated with the ancient Buddhist foundations of Enryakuji on Mount Hiei near Kyoto and its daughter temple Onjōji (Miidera) near Otsu, or the temples of Nara to the south: Kōfukuji and Tōdaiji. There are references to Buddhist temples arming themselves as early as the 10th century, and for the next 200 years armies of sōhei were to be used, either in disputes between temples, in disagreements between them and the imperial court, or in alliance with a particular samurai family or faction.
Contemporary illustrations tend to portray the sōhei as rough characters, implying that many were not ordained priests but warriors recruited by the temples. Their traditional weapon was the naginata, a form of glaive, but they were also proficient in archery and swordsmanship. When in arms against the imperial court the sōhei would reinforce their presence by carrying into Kyoto the sacred omikoshi (portable shrine) in which the kami (spirit) of the temple was believed to dwell.
The first major conflict involving sōhei and samurai took place at the first battle of Uji in 1180. During the action two sōhei from Miidera fought celebrated single combats on the broken bridge across the river. Following the defeat of the Minamoto the Taira attacked Nara and caused great destruction. This effectively ended the Nara sōhei involvement in the war, although sōhei from Mount Hiei assisted in defending Kyoto against Minamoto Yoshinaka. We may also note the presence of a religious contingent from Kumano, a Shinto shrine, at the battle of Dan no Ura in 1185.
Sōhei from Mount Hiei were involved in the fighting of the Shōkyū war in 1221, and provided military help during the attempt at imperial restoration by Emperor Go-Daigo in 1333. For the following two centuries the sōhei were to be sporadically involved in war, culminating in support for the Asai and Asakura families in 1570 against Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga's reaction to sōhei intervention was a massive raid on Mount Hiei during which the entire temple complex was set ablaze and possibly 20, 000 people killed.
— Stephen Turnbull
