The Mikawa Ikkō-ikki (Japanese: 三河一向一揆 みかわいっこういっき[*]) was an [[Ikkō-ikki]] uprising that took place for roughly half a year, from 1563 (Eiroku 6) to 1564 (Eiroku 7), across the whole of Nishimikawa in [[Mikawa Province]] during the [[Sengoku period]]. It does not apply to Higashimikawa, where the in
Start~End 1563 ~ 1564Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Centered on the 10th abbot of Honshō-ji in Nodera, present-day Anjō, Kusei (great-grandson of Rennyo), who sent appeals to the followers of the Jōdo ShinshūHonganji sect, fought against the daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Sanshū Ikkōshū Ranki records: "The one called Honshō-ji of Nodera village in Aomi District of this province is a small head temple of the Ikkō sect, a dojo not subject to the protector's entry, and one of the three temples of this province."
The core forces were the Mikawa Sankadera, Honshō-ji, and the Kira clan, the shugo's deputy of Mikawa, together with the Arakawa clan, the Sakurai Matsudaira clan, and the Ōkusa Matsudaira clan. In addition, Honda Masanobu, Hachiya Sadatsugu, and Natsume Yoshinobu, who were under the Anjō Matsudaira clan, took part. This reflects how the Anjō Matsudaira clan, which rose in place of the main line of Iwazu Matsudaira, had brought under its control the regional forces of Jōdo Shinshū adherents from the period when it was based at ; the largest of these was the , which also belonged to the Honshō-ji following. Within the kin groups the followers and Ieyasu's side split, and the confusion reached its peak.
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The Mikawa Ikkō-ikki is regarded, together with the Battle of Mikatagahara and the Igagoe incident, as one of the three great crises of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Since a considerable part of his retainer corps joined the followers' side, it clearly showed Ieyasu the fearsome power of religion.
The outline of the uprising is depicted in Ōkubo Tadanori's Mikawa Monogatari and in the Sanshū Ikkōshū Ranki.
The Mikawa Sankadera and the Privilege of Exemption from Protectors' Entry
Honshō-ji (Noji-chō in Anjō: Noji-chō), Jōgu-ji (Kamisasaki-chō in Okazaki: Kamisasaki-chō), and Shōman-ji (Harisaki-chō in Okazaki: Harisaki-chō) were the bases of the Honganji sect in Mikawa. They were called the Mikawa Sankadera, and during the time of Matsudaira Hirotada (Ieyasu's father) they were granted the privilege of exemption from the entry of the protector (shugo).
The Origins of the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki
The Sanshū Ikkōshū Ranki first cites the origin at Honshō-ji, and then lists two other accounts: a separate theory from Honshō-ji and, further, a theory from Jōgu-ji. It explains that there are several theories.
In Eiroku 5 (1562), an outlaw who had invaded Honshō-ji was arrested by Sakai Masachika, lord of Nishio Castle, and this is said to have violated the privilege of exemption from the protector's entry; the uprising is said to have broken out in the first month of Eiroku 6 (1563).
The theory of origin at Jōgu-ji
In Eiroku 6 (1563), Suganuma Sadaaki, a retainer of the Matsudaira family, was ordered to build a fortress near Jōgu-ji, and the grain that Jōgu-ji had set aside as military provisions was seized; this is said to have been the beginning (however, the existence of the retainer Suganuma Sadaaki is unverified).
This is an account from the Tōshōgū Gojitsuki, volume 2. It says that rather than the retainers and others of the Sasaki family collecting the rice of Jōgu-ji under the whip, the followers, who had been entirely unrelated, suddenly rose up.
It is said that the uprising began when the conflict between the Mikawa Sankadera, which asserted their exemption privilege and sought to dissolve the church's vested interests, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who aimed at unifying Mikawa Province, deepened, and the privilege of exemption from the protector's entry was violated. The 10th abbot of Honshō-ji, Kusei (grandson of Rennyo), together with Jōgu-ji and Shōman-ji, sent out appeals, gathered the Honganji followers, and attacked the fortress of the Suganuma clan. Retainers of the Matsudaira family who were Shin Buddhist followers, powerful local lords such as the Kira clan, and remnants of the Imagawa clan joined in, advanced to Okazaki Castle, the main castle of the Matsudaira family, and drove Ieyasu into a corner.
The Kuwako Myōgen-ji and Sugo Manshō-ji, prominent temples of the Takada-ha branch of Shinshū, which had a poor relationship with the Honganji church, sided with Ieyasu.
However, there are objections to this way of describing the uprising. Hirano Akio, after analyzing Ieyasu's movements in Eiroku 6, found that the rising of Sakai Tadanao of Ueno Castle occurred in the sixth month of Eiroku 6 (or earlier), the rising of Ogasawara Hiroshige of Terabe Castle occurred before the tenth month of the same year, and the rising of Kira Yoshiaki of Tojō Castle occurred in the late tenth month of the same year; the occurrence of the Ikkō-ikki can be confirmed only after the rebel forces attacked Honda Hirotaka's Doi Castle in the twelfth month of the same year (or earlier). He also notes that there is no trace of Sakai, Ogasawara, or Kira having contacted the Ikkō-ikki or Ieyasu's retainers who supported it, or of their having carried out joint operations (even at the time the Ikkō-ikki pressed against Okazaki Castle, the enemy remained and did not advance troops to Okazaki). On this basis he argues that the risings of the Sakai and Kira clans and the Ikkō-ikki all targeted Ieyasu, but that, strictly speaking, there was no connection between the two.
Retainers of Ieyasu Who Sided with the Ikkō-ikki
Honda Masanobu — After the war he fled and went into hiding. He served the Matsunaga Hisahide and wandered through various provinces, and later, through the mediation of Ōkubo Tadayo, he returned and was given high office, becoming a senior councilor of the Edo shogunate in its founding period.
Honda Masashige — Participated together with his elder brother Masanobu. Although he was later pardoned and returned to win distinction in battle, he again fled and went into hiding, serving Takigawa Kazumasu, Maeda Toshiie, and Gamō Ujisato before returning.
Natsume Yoshinobu — When Noba Castle (there is also a theory that it was Rokkuri Castle) fell, he was captured by Matsudaira Koretada, and through Koretada's petition he was pardoned and returned.
Naitō Kiyonaga — Subjected to house confinement. His son Ienaga, unlike his father, served on Ieyasu's side.
Sakai Tadanao — There is a theory that before the Ikkō-ikki broke out he had shut himself up in his main castle. Also, there is no trace of his being linked with the Ikkō side. He continued to resist even after the Ikkō-ikki was subdued.
Ishikawa Yasumasa — His father Ishikawa Kiyokane is said to have been the head of the Honganji believers in Mikawa; the Ishikawa clan thus had a deep relationship with the Ikkō followers. However, the wife (or the mother of the wife) of Kiyokane was the younger sister of Ieyasu's mother, and Yasumasa and his younger brother Ienari were cousins of Ieyasu. Because of this close kinship, Yasumasa's eldest son Ishikawa Kazumasa converted and sided with Ieyasu, and his younger brother Ienari also fought on Ieyasu's side.
The Suppression of the Ikkō-ikki and Its Aftermath
On January 15, Eiroku 7 (1564), following Ieyasu's victory at the Battle of Batogahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu gained the upper hand, brought the matter to a peace settlement, and succeeded in dissolving the Ikkō-ikki. A letter from Mizuno Nobumoto, who was also involved in mediating the settlement, records that in the spring of Eiroku 7 a peace had been arranged and the country had become calm. Afterward, in the fourth month of the same year, the Ogasawara clan submitted to Ieyasu, and the Kira clan and Sakai Tadahisa, who continued to resist, were driven out.
Among the samurai who had been assigned to the Ikkō side, there were some who suffered from the dilemma between loyalty to their lords and their religious faith. Many of these samurai wished to desert the Ikkō side and return, and so the Ikkō side moved toward settlement. At this time, Honshō-ji burned its monks, and Shōman-ji burned its temple buildings. Having completely dissolved the Ikkō sect through the peace settlement, Ieyasu then forced the Honganji temples to convert to other sects and other religions, and where they refused, he dismantled the temples.
On the other hand, there is also the following view regarding the suppression of Honganji temples. Ieyasu, who had been harassed by betrayal from his retainers, issued a tokusei-rei (debt relief edict) to the retainers who had sided with him, exempting them from repaying debts owed to adversaries such as the Honganji temples. However, after the peace with the Ikkō-ikki, the handling of this became a problem. Mizuno Nobumoto, who had taken part in mediating the peace, asked the Honshū-ji and others to at least recognize part of the tokusei-rei, but the Honganji temples objected that the tokusei-rei violated the terms of the peace. Caught between the terms of the peace and his promises to his retainers, Ieyasu is said to have carried out the suppression of the Honganji temples in or after the twelfth month of Eiroku 7.
For 19 years after the end of the Ikkō-ikki, until Tenshō 11 (1583), Mikawa Province became a land where the Honganji church was prohibited. However, while Ieyasu imposed strict measures on the Honganji church, he treated the retainers who had betrayed him leniently, succeeding in strengthening the unity of his house. (Honda Masanobu and some other retainers fled and went into hiding.)
This Ikkō-ikki was caused by the Ikkō-shū forces, who tried to block the movement of Ieyasu, who aimed at establishing the territorial rule of Mikawa, and who drew in their kin and retainers. In that sense, it is thought that it was a gate that the main Matsudaira line (Tokugawa clan) had to pass through when, as a sengoku daimyō, it achieved unified rule over the domain.
Centered on the 10th abbot of Honshō-ji in Nodera, present-day Anjō, Kusei (great-grandson of Rennyo), who sent appeals to the followers of the Jōdo ShinshūHonganji sect, fought against the daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Sanshū Ikkōshū Ranki records: "The one called Honshō-ji of Nodera village in Aomi District of this province is a small head temple of the Ikkō sect, a dojo not subject to the protector's entry, and one of the three temples of this province."
The core forces were the Mikawa Sankadera, Honshō-ji, and the Kira clan, the shugo's deputy of Mikawa, together with the Arakawa clan, the Sakurai Matsudaira clan, and the Ōkusa Matsudaira clan. In addition, Honda Masanobu, Hachiya Sadatsugu, and Natsume Yoshinobu, who were under the , took part. This reflects how the Anjō Matsudaira clan, which rose in place of the main line of , had brought under its control the regional forces of Jōdo Shinshū adherents from the period when it was based at ; the largest of these was the , which also belonged to the Honshō-ji following. Within the kin groups the followers and Ieyasu's side split, and the confusion reached its peak.
The Mikawa Ikkō-ikki is regarded, together with the Battle of Mikatagahara and the Igagoe incident, as one of the three great crises of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Since a considerable part of his retainer corps joined the followers' side, it clearly showed Ieyasu the fearsome power of religion.
The outline of the uprising is depicted in Ōkubo Tadanori's Mikawa Monogatari and in the Sanshū Ikkōshū Ranki.
The Mikawa Sankadera and the Privilege of Exemption from Protectors' Entry
Honshō-ji (Noji-chō in Anjō: Noji-chō), Jōgu-ji (Kamisasaki-chō in Okazaki: Kamisasaki-chō), and Shōman-ji (Harisaki-chō in Okazaki: Harisaki-chō) were the bases of the Honganji sect in Mikawa. They were called the Mikawa Sankadera, and during the time of Matsudaira Hirotada (Ieyasu's father) they were granted the privilege of exemption from the entry of the protector (shugo).
The Origins of the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki
The Sanshū Ikkōshū Ranki first cites the origin at Honshō-ji, and then lists two other accounts: a separate theory from Honshō-ji and, further, a theory from Jōgu-ji. It explains that there are several theories.
In Eiroku 5 (1562), an outlaw who had invaded Honshō-ji was arrested by Sakai Masachika, lord of Nishio Castle, and this is said to have violated the privilege of exemption from the protector's entry; the uprising is said to have broken out in the first month of Eiroku 6 (1563).
The theory of origin at Jōgu-ji
In Eiroku 6 (1563), Suganuma Sadaaki, a retainer of the Matsudaira family, was ordered to build a fortress near Jōgu-ji, and the grain that Jōgu-ji had set aside as military provisions was seized; this is said to have been the beginning (however, the existence of the retainer Suganuma Sadaaki is unverified).
This is an account from the Tōshōgū Gojitsuki, volume 2. It says that rather than the retainers and others of the Sasaki family collecting the rice of Jōgu-ji under the whip, the followers, who had been entirely unrelated, suddenly rose up.
It is said that the uprising began when the conflict between the Mikawa Sankadera, which asserted their exemption privilege and sought to dissolve the church's vested interests, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who aimed at unifying Mikawa Province, deepened, and the privilege of exemption from the protector's entry was violated. The 10th abbot of Honshō-ji, Kusei (grandson of Rennyo), together with Jōgu-ji and Shōman-ji, sent out appeals, gathered the Honganji followers, and attacked the fortress of the Suganuma clan. Retainers of the Matsudaira family who were Shin Buddhist followers, powerful local lords such as the Kira clan, and remnants of the Imagawa clan joined in, advanced to Okazaki Castle, the main castle of the Matsudaira family, and drove Ieyasu into a corner.
The Kuwako Myōgen-ji and Sugo Manshō-ji, prominent temples of the Takada-ha branch of Shinshū, which had a poor relationship with the Honganji church, sided with Ieyasu.
However, there are objections to this way of describing the uprising. Hirano Akio, after analyzing Ieyasu's movements in Eiroku 6, found that the rising of Sakai Tadanao of Ueno Castle occurred in the sixth month of Eiroku 6 (or earlier), the rising of Ogasawara Hiroshige of Terabe Castle occurred before the tenth month of the same year, and the rising of Kira Yoshiaki of Tojō Castle occurred in the late tenth month of the same year; the occurrence of the Ikkō-ikki can be confirmed only after the rebel forces attacked Honda Hirotaka's Doi Castle in the twelfth month of the same year (or earlier). He also notes that there is no trace of Sakai, Ogasawara, or Kira having contacted the Ikkō-ikki or Ieyasu's retainers who supported it, or of their having carried out joint operations (even at the time the Ikkō-ikki pressed against Okazaki Castle, the enemy remained and did not advance troops to Okazaki). On this basis he argues that the risings of the Sakai and Kira clans and the Ikkō-ikki all targeted Ieyasu, but that, strictly speaking, there was no connection between the two.
Retainers of Ieyasu Who Sided with the Ikkō-ikki
Honda Masanobu — After the war he fled and went into hiding. He served the Matsunaga Hisahide and wandered through various provinces, and later, through the mediation of Ōkubo Tadayo, he returned and was given high office, becoming a senior councilor of the Edo shogunate in its founding period.
Honda Masashige — Participated together with his elder brother Masanobu. Although he was later pardoned and returned to win distinction in battle, he again fled and went into hiding, serving Takigawa Kazumasu, Maeda Toshiie, and Gamō Ujisato before returning.
Natsume Yoshinobu — When Noba Castle (there is also a theory that it was Rokkuri Castle) fell, he was captured by Matsudaira Koretada, and through Koretada's petition he was pardoned and returned.
Naitō Kiyonaga — Subjected to house confinement. His son Ienaga, unlike his father, served on Ieyasu's side.
Sakai Tadanao — There is a theory that before the Ikkō-ikki broke out he had shut himself up in his main castle. Also, there is no trace of his being linked with the Ikkō side. He continued to resist even after the Ikkō-ikki was subdued.
Ishikawa Yasumasa — His father Ishikawa Kiyokane is said to have been the head of the Honganji believers in Mikawa; the Ishikawa clan thus had a deep relationship with the Ikkō followers. However, the wife (or the mother of the wife) of Kiyokane was the younger sister of Ieyasu's mother, and Yasumasa and his younger brother Ienari were cousins of Ieyasu. Because of this close kinship, Yasumasa's eldest son Ishikawa Kazumasa converted and sided with Ieyasu, and his younger brother Ienari also fought on Ieyasu's side.
The Suppression of the Ikkō-ikki and Its Aftermath
On January 15, Eiroku 7 (1564), following Ieyasu's victory at the Battle of Batogahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu gained the upper hand, brought the matter to a peace settlement, and succeeded in dissolving the Ikkō-ikki. A letter from Mizuno Nobumoto, who was also involved in mediating the settlement, records that in the spring of Eiroku 7 a peace had been arranged and the country had become calm. Afterward, in the fourth month of the same year, the Ogasawara clan submitted to Ieyasu, and the Kira clan and Sakai Tadahisa, who continued to resist, were driven out.
Among the samurai who had been assigned to the Ikkō side, there were some who suffered from the dilemma between loyalty to their lords and their religious faith. Many of these samurai wished to desert the Ikkō side and return, and so the Ikkō side moved toward settlement. At this time, Honshō-ji burned its monks, and Shōman-ji burned its temple buildings. Having completely dissolved the Ikkō sect through the peace settlement, Ieyasu then forced the Honganji temples to convert to other sects and other religions, and where they refused, he dismantled the temples.
On the other hand, there is also the following view regarding the suppression of Honganji temples. Ieyasu, who had been harassed by betrayal from his retainers, issued a tokusei-rei (debt relief edict) to the retainers who had sided with him, exempting them from repaying debts owed to adversaries such as the Honganji temples. However, after the peace with the Ikkō-ikki, the handling of this became a problem. Mizuno Nobumoto, who had taken part in mediating the peace, asked the Honshū-ji and others to at least recognize part of the tokusei-rei, but the Honganji temples objected that the tokusei-rei violated the terms of the peace. Caught between the terms of the peace and his promises to his retainers, Ieyasu is said to have carried out the suppression of the Honganji temples in or after the twelfth month of Eiroku 7.
For 19 years after the end of the Ikkō-ikki, until Tenshō 11 (1583), Mikawa Province became a land where the Honganji church was prohibited. However, while Ieyasu imposed strict measures on the Honganji church, he treated the retainers who had betrayed him leniently, succeeding in strengthening the unity of his house. (Honda Masanobu and some other retainers fled and went into hiding.)
This Ikkō-ikki was caused by the Ikkō-shū forces, who tried to block the movement of Ieyasu, who aimed at establishing the territorial rule of Mikawa, and who drew in their kin and retainers. In that sense, it is thought that it was a gate that the main Matsudaira line (Tokugawa clan) had to pass through when, as a sengoku daimyō, it achieved unified rule over the domain.
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