It is sometimes said that Nobunaga hated Buddhism because of his wars with Hongan-ji, his suppression of Ikkō-ikki, his fire attack against Mt. Hiei and his attacks on Mt. Kōya, but this is a great misconception. It is true that he showed no mercy, even to monks, but this was not because he hated Buddhism. There is a saying that if you kill a monk, you will be cursed for seven generations, but unlike most daimyōs of the time, Nobunaga simply did not have such a taboo. Nobunaga only fought Buddhist forces as thoroughly as he had fought other Sengoku Daimyōs, and while it is true that he killed thousands of monks and tens of thousands of believers, he never forbade their faith itself. Nobunaga would forgive them if they complied with his advice to surrender, but if they did not, he would send a large army to massacre them and try to suppress them through fear.
It is sometimes said that Nobunaga hated Buddhism because of his wars with Hongan-ji, his suppression of Ikkō-ikki, his fire attack against Mt. Hiei and his attacks on Mt. Kōya but this is a great misconception. It is true that he showed no mercy, even to monks, but this was not because he hated Buddhism. There is a saying that if you kill a monk, you will be cursed for seven generations, but unlike most daimyōs of the time, Nobunaga simply did not have such a taboo. Nobunaga only fought Buddhist forces as thoroughly as he had fought other Sengoku Daimyōs, and while it is true that he killed thousands of monks and tens of thousands of believers, he never forbade their faith itself. Nobunaga would forgive them if they complied with his advice to surrender, but if they did not he would send a large army to massacre them and try to suppress them through fear.