Japanese Fortified Temples and Monasteries AD 710–1062

Training for war

Apart from prayer and daily work, preparation for war in the form of military training was the other main activity in the fortified temple, as confirmed by the only description of sohei by a western writer. It comes from the European Jesuit missionary Father Caspar Vilela, who has left us a fascinating pen-picture of Negorodera's warrior monk army. Vilela compared the sohei to the Knights of Rhodes, but surmised that most of those he saw had taken no monastic vows, because they wore their hair long and were devoted to the practice of arms, their monastic rule placing less emphasis on prayer than on military preparation. Each member was required to make five or seven arrows per day, and to practise competitively with bow and arquebus once a week. Their helmets, armour and spears were of astonishing strength, and, to quote Vilela, 'their sharp swords could slice through a man in armour as easily as a butcher carves a tender steak!' Their practice combat with each other was fierce, and the death of one of their number in training was accepted without emotion. Fearless on the battlefield, they enjoyed life off it with none of the restrictions normally associated with the ascetic life.