Ikko-ikki

The Japanese Ikko-ikki (一向一揆), literally "single-minded leagues", were mobs of peasant farmers and low-status samurai, who rose up against samurai rule in the 15th and 16th centuries. They followed the beliefs of the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida Buddha's grace. Organized to only a small degree, if any single person could be said to have had any influence over them it was Rennyo, an eccentric but important leader of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji sect. Rennyo's attitude to the Ikko-ikki was however highly ambivalent and pragmatic. Whilst he certainly used the religious fervour of the Ikko-ikki in the defence of his temple settlements, he was also careful to distance himself from the wider social rebellion of the Ikko movement as a whole.

Related Topics:
Samurai - Jodo Shinshu - Buddhism - Amida Buddha's - Rennyo - Honganji - Ikko

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