controlled by the ikki or their allies, and the populist roots of the ikki movement gave them significant economic power as well. Nobunaga in particular sought the destruction of the Ikkō-ikki for these reasons, and because they allied themselves with nearly every one of his major enemies or rivals. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was once strongly supported in his claim to become Shōgun by Nobunaga, but turned to the ikki when their relationship soured. The ikki also had powerful allies in the Mōri, Azai, and Asakura clans. In the Asakura stronghold of Echizen province, today's Fukui-prefecture, Nobunaga ordered his generals to kill the people in Ajimano village in August 1575 as noted in The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga. The Ishiyama Hongan-ji and Nagashima fortresses were besieged several times by the forces of Oda Nobunaga. After several failed attempts at seizing each emplacement, he eventually succeeded. In the 1580s, the last of the Ikkō-ikki courted Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and fought alongside his forces against warrior monks and priests of other sects. Weapons, training, and lifestyle The Ikkō-ikki bands of the 16th century, due largely to their origins as countryside mobs, used quite varied armor and armament. Many wore the more traditional priest robes, with varying degrees and types of armor. Some wore various sorts of helmets, while others opted for the straw hat and cloak of a peasant. Naginata remained very common, along with a variety of swords and daggers, and a limited number of arquebuses. Finally, while not truly armor nor armament, a very common item wielded by the mobs of Ikkō-ikki priest warriors was a banner with a Buddhist slogan written upon it. Some of the more common slogans included the nenbutsu chant "Hail to Buddha Amida!" (Namu Amida Butsu; 南無阿弥陀仏) and "He who advances is sure of salvation, but he who retreats will go to hell". Shin Buddhism was persecuted in response to the Ikkō-ikki, which caused the formation of kakure nenbutsu secret societies. References Further reading Dobbins, James C. (1989). Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ; OCLC 470742039 Neil McMullin (1984). Buddhism and the State in Sixteenth-Century Japan, Princeton University Press. Repp, Martin (2011). Review of War and Faith: Ikko Ikki in Late Muromachi Japan by Carol Richmond Tsang (2007) in Japanese Religions 36: 1-2, pp. 104–108 [scroll down the page] Gyūichi Ōta (2011 translation; 1610 account). The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga. Volume