The Siege of Mount Hiei 29th September 1571
The attack by Oda Nobunga on the fortress monastery of Hiei was such a massacre it is an exaggeration to classify it as a battle. The assault began on 29th September 1571 with the burning of the town of Sakamoto at the base of the mountain; this drove most of the townsfolk to seek refuge in the monastery above. Nobunga made sure that the shrine to the mountain king Kami Sano was destroyed in the attack and then used his 30,000 men to surround the mountain. They then moved slowly upwards killing all they came across and burning any buildings. By nightfall the main temple of Enryakuji was burning and many of the monks had leapt to their deaths in the flames. The following day Nobunga sent his Teppo-Tai to hunt down any survivors. It is possible that 20,000 died in the attack and the result wiped out the warrior monks of the tendai sect.
How to cite this article: Dugdale-Pointon, Tristan (26 February 2006), The Siege of Mount Hiei, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_mount_hiei.html