theocracy · Korea and Japan

Kaga Ikko-ikki

1488 CE – 1580 CE · capital Oyama Gobo (Kanazawa)

A province of Japan ruled for almost a century by leagues of Jodo Shinshu Buddhist believers after they overthrew its governor in 1488.

Origins

The preaching of Rennyo spread the True Pure Land, or Ikko, sect among farmers, local warriors and townspeople of the Hokuriku region. In 1488 a league of believers rose against the governor Togashi Masachika, besieged his castle and drove him to suicide.

Rule and society

A Togashi relative remained nominal governor, but real power lay with leagues of local warriors and village communities organised around temples of the Hongan-ji, whose head priests in Yamashina and later Ishiyama directed affairs. In 1546 the Oyama Gobo temple was founded at the site of modern Kanazawa as the regional centre. Contemporaries called Kaga a province held by peasants.

Decline and legacy

Oda Nobunaga fought the Ikko leagues for years. After the Ishiyama Hongan-ji surrendered in 1580, his general Shibata Katsuie captured the Oyama Gobo and crushed resistance. Kaga later became the domain of the Maeda.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kaga Ikko-ikki. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kaga-ikko-ikki
MLA
“Kaga Ikko-ikki.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kaga-ikko-ikki. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kaga Ikko-ikki.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kaga-ikko-ikki.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kaga Ikko-ikki’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kaga-ikko-ikki (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻