attles of their own, in which hundreds
were killed and towns and temples burned. So great were their authority,
their insolence, and their licentiousness that their existence had
become an evil in the land, and Nobunaga determined to teach them a
lesson they would not soon forget.

Of the monasteries, the most extensive was that of Hiyeizan, on Lake
Biwa. Within its territory lay thirteen valleys and more than five
hundred temples, shrines, and dwellings, the grounds of which were
adorned in the highest style of landscape art. The monks here were
numbered by thousands, with whom religious service was a gorgeous
ceremonial mockery, and who revelled in luxury, feasted on forbidden
viands, drank to inebriety, and indulged in every form of
licentiousness. They used their influence in rousing the clans to war,
from which they hoped to draw new spoils for their unrighteous
enjoyments, while screening themselves from danger behind the cloak of
the priesthood.

It was against this monastery that the wrath of Nobunaga was most
strongly aroused. Marching against it in 1571, he bade his generals set
it on fire. The officers stood aghast at the order, which seemed to them
likely to call down the vengeance of Heaven upon their heads. With
earnest protests they begged him not to do so unholy an act.

"Since this monastery was built, now nearly a thousand years ago," they
said, "it has been vigilant against the power of the spirits of evil. No
one has dared in all that time to lift a hand against these holy
buildings. Can you design to do so?"

"Yes," answered Nobunaga, sternly. "I have put down the villains that
distracted the country, and I intend to bring peace upon the land and
restore the power of the mikado. The bonzes have opposed my efforts and
aided my enemies. I sent them a messenger and gave them the chance to
act with loyalty, but they failed to listen to my words, and resisted
the army of the emperor, aiding the wicked robbers. Does not this make
them thieves and villains? If I let them now escape, this trouble will
continue forever, and I have allowed them to remain on this mountain
only that I might destroy them. That is not all. I have heard that these
priests fail to keep their own rules. They eat fish and the
strong-smelling vegetables which Buddha prohibited. They keep
concubines, and do not even read the sacred books of their faith. How
can such as these put down evil and preserve holiness? It is my command
th