Ichirai (一来, died 1180) was a Japanese

warrior monk A warrior monk is a concept found in various cultures of a person who combines aspects of being a monk, such as deep religious devotion and an ascetic lifestyle, with being a warrior, trained to engage in violent conflict. Examples include: * ...

who supported the

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

against their rivals, the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

. Ichirai-hōshi is best known for his part in the battle of Uji. He was fighting behind

Tsutsui Jōmyō Meishū Tsutsui no Jōmyō Meishū (筒井浄妙明秀) was a warrior monk (''sōhei'') from Mii-dera who fought alongside Minamoto no Yorimasa and his fellow monks at the Battle of Uji in 1180, defending the Byōdō-in and Prince Mochihito from the T ...

on the Uji bridge, but he could not fight alongside his ally as the beams were so narrow. He is said to have leapt over the other monk, taken over the brunt of the fighting, and continued until he fell.

References

*Turnbull, Stephen. ''Warriors of Medieval Japan.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2005 Japanese warrior monks 1180 deaths People of the Heian period Buddhist clergy of the Heian period Year of birth unknown {{Japan-mil-bio-stub