Darksaber1
Secret Emperor
Ye, that's what and who I was thinking of. And it's spelt Oda Nobunaga.@Darksaber. Oda Norabunga (sp?). He first fought against the Ikko Ikki, which was a combination of a type of militant Buddhism with peasant communes. From the peasant point of view, this was a great alternate to the conventional caste system of traditional Japanese society since one was free of feudal constraints and had self-government. From the POV of the samurai, the peasants had to be put in their place. These peasants and the Buddhist warrior-monks did kick some serious butt before finally being exterminated. Oda Norabunga did not believe in leaving an enemy alive. Any Ikko Ikki who did not run away [and most fought to the death since they believed that death in battle sent you to paradise] were killed, as well as their women and children.
Since the monks of Mt Hiei knew that Oda Norabunga was going after them once he finished off the Ikko Ikki, they had been supporting the Ikko Ikki. Oda Norabunga did come after them, and it is said the entire mountain burned as every monastery (and there were 100+) was stormed, set afire, and the sohei given a choice of dying in the flames or a warrior's death. This broke the power of Mt. Hiei for the rest of the medieval period.
Edit: Ya, I knew the theme of the event, but I could not remember the detals, since I read about it in a book highly based on the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu, just with names changed. It's called Shogun, a pretty good read, and most of it's true history. (like I said, names and minor events changed to suit the story).