Siege of Mount Hiei

Siege of Mount Hiei
Part of the Sengoku period
Nobunaga forces setting fire to Enryaku-ji and massacring the monks (depiction in the Ehon taikōki)
Date September 30, 1571 Location Mount Hiei, Ōmi Province, Japan Result Oda victory
Belligerents
Forces of Oda Nobunaga	Sōhei of Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei
Commanders and leaders
Oda Nobunaga Sakuma Nobumori Akechi Mitsuhide Ikeda Tsuneoki Niwa Nagahide Kawajiri Hidetaka	Various monk leaders
Strength
30,000	4,000
Casualties and losses
300	Unknown number of buildings 1,500–4,000 people

The siege of Mount Hiei was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Oda Nobunaga and the sōhei (warrior monks) of the monasteries of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei near Kyoto on September 30, 1571. It is said that Oda Nobunaga killed all the monks, scholars, priests, women, and children that lived on the mountain in this battle. However, recent excavations have pointed out that many of the facilities may have been abolished before this and the destruction was less than some historical sources indicate.^[1]