Following the 1180 Battle of Uji, in which

Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106 – 20 June 1180) was a prominent Japanese poet whose works appeared in various anthologies. He served eight different emperors in his long career, holding posts such as ''hyōgo no kami'' (head of the arsenal). He was also a warrior, le ...

fought a small Taira army with the help of monks from the

Mii-dera , formally called , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Jimon sect ...

and other temples, the victorious Taira sought revenge. They burned the Miidera temple, before moving on to Nara, where they "set fire to the monastic complexes of

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

and

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

." The Taira were opposed by warrior monks from nearly every major monastery and temple in Nara. Taira no Shigehira and Tomomori, both sons of Kiyomori, head of the clan, commanded the siege. The monks dug ditches in the roads, and built many forms of improvised defenses. They fought primarily with bow & arrow, and ''

naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ...

'', while the Taira were on horseback, giving them a great advantage. Despite the monks' superior numbers, and their strategic defenses, their enemy succeeded in destroying nearly every temple in the city, including the

and

. Only the

Shōsōin The is the treasure house of Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The building is in the '' azekura'' ( log-cabin) style with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Great Buddha Hall. The Shōsō-in houses artifacts connected to Emperor Sh ...

survived. The Heike Monogatari laments the destruction of the Tōdai-ji's ''Daibutsu'' (Great Buddha statue): In all, 3,500 people died in the burning of Nara.

References

* Turnbull, Stephen (2003). 'Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. {{coord, 34.683333, N, 135.8, E, display=title 1180s in Japan 1180 in Asia Conflicts in 1180

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

Nara 1180 Anti-Buddhism Incidents in the history of Buddhism in Japan Buddhism in the Heian period