Japanese warrior monks

thumb|Benkei by Kikuchi Yōsai , popularly known by the mononym Benkei (), was a Japanese warrior monk (sōhei) who lived in the latter years of the Heian Period (794–1185). Benkei led a varied life, first becoming a monk, then a mountain ascetic, and then a rogue warrior. He later came to respect and serve the famous warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune, also known as Ushiwakamaru. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore showcased in many ancient and modern literature and productions.

thumb|right|The sōhei Benkei with [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune|upright]]

thumb|Kennyo , also known as Kōsa (光佐), was the 11th patriarch of the Hongan-ji lineage of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, and Chief Abbot of Ishiyama Hongan-ji, cathedral fortress of the Ikkō-ikki (Buddhist warrior priests and peasants who opposed samurai rule), during its siege at the end of the Sengoku period. Similar to his father, Shōnyo (10th patriarch), Kennyo engineered many alliances, and organized the defenses of the cathedral to the point that most at the time considered Ishiyama Hongan-ji to be unbreachable. ==Biography== In 1570, Takeda Shingen, a relative of Kennyo through marriage, faced

Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was a descendant of Shinran and the 8th head priest of the Hongan-ji branch of Jōdo Shinshū, a major Japanese Buddhist tradition. He is known for his tireless preaching of the Shin teaching and is credited with transforming the Honganji into a major religious organization. According to Dobbins, during Rennyo's tenure, Hongan-ji temple "emerged as the premier institution of the school, and the Shinshū itself burgeoned into one of Japan's largest and most powerful schools of Buddhism." Shinshū Buddhists often refer to him as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He was al

thumb | right | alt=A japanese temple with green trees | Negoro-ji temple in 2007The '''''' were an order of warrior monks based in Negoro-ji temple, in Japan's Kii Province. They were famous for their skill with firearms, as well as with more traditional monk weapons like the naginata. Negoro-ji, along with many other warrior monasteries, came under siege at the end of the 16th century; in 1585, the temple was burned to the ground by the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

samurai of the early and middle Kamakura period

Japanese monk of the Sengoku period

Warrior monk