"We do not object to punishing these excesses. But it is impossible, in a single day, to reform a religion in which all men fervently believe and which has been granted special authority," Nobumori argued.

"What good is that kind of common sense?" Nobunaga exploded. "It's because we've had eight hundred years of common sense that no one has been able to change the situa­tion, despite people's lamenting over the church's corruption and degeneracy. Even His Majesty the Emperor Shirakawa said that there were three things over which he had no control: dice, the waters of the Kamo River, and the warrior-monks of Mount Hiei. What role in the peace and preservation of the country did this mountain play during the years of civil war? Has it given peace of mind or strength to the common people?" Nobunaga suddenly waved his right hand to the side. "For hundreds of years, when disasters have occurred, the monks have done nothing more than protect their own privileges. With the money donated by the credulous masses, they build stone walls and gates that would befit a fortress and inside they hoard guns and spears. Worse, the monks flaunt their vows openly by eating meat and indulging in sexual intercourse. Let's not even speak of the decadence of Buddhist scholarship. Where is the sin in burning down something like that?"

Nobumori replied, "Everything you say is true, but we must stop you, my lord.  We are not going to leave this place until we do, even if it costs us our lives." The three men simultaneously prostrated themselves and remained motionless before Nobunaga.

Mount Hiei was the headquarters of the Tendai sect; the Honganji was the principle stronghold of the Ikko sect. Each called the other "the other sect" in matters of doctrine, and it was only in their opposition to Nobunaga that they were united. If Nobunaga had not had a moment's rest, it was because of the schemes of the men dressed in monks' robes, living on Mount Hiei. They had plotted with the Asai and Asakura clans and the shogun, helped enemies defeated by Nobunaga, sent secret calls for assistance as far as Echigo and Kai, and even incited peasant revolts in Owari.

The three generals knew that without the destruction of this reputedly impregnable Buddhist fortress, the Oda army would be stymied at every turn, and Nobunaga would be unable to realize his dreams.

As soon as Nobunaga had set up his camp, he had given an incredible order: "Attack the mountain and burn everything to the ground, starting with the shrines, the Great Hall, the monasteries, and all the sutras and the holy relics." This was extreme enough, but he went on, "Let no one escape if they're wearing monkish robes. Make no distinc­tion between the wise and the foolish, aristocratic or common monks. Show no mercy to women and children. Even if someone is dressed as a layman, if he's been hiding on the mountain and runs away because of the fire, you may look upon him as part of the pres­ent plague as well. Massacre the entire lot, and burn the mountain until there's not a sign of human life left in the ruins!"

Even the Rakasa, the bloodthirsty cannibal demons of the Buddhist hells, could not have done such a thing. The generals who heard his order were unnerved.

"Has he gone mad?" Takei Sekian muttered under his breath, but well within earshot of the other generals. However, only Sakuma Nobumori, Takei Sekian, and Akechi Mitsuhide dared to express their opinions in front of Nobunaga.

Before going to confront their lord, they had pledged, "We may be forced to commit seppuku one after another for going against His Lordship's orders, but we cannot let him carry out this reckless fire attack."

Nobunaga could simply besiege and take Mount Hiei. But where was the need for such slaughter with an attack by fire? If they dared to commit this outrage, they feared that popular sentiment would turn against the Oda. Nobunaga's enemies would rejoice, and they would use the attack as propaganda to blacken his name at every opportunity. He would only be bringing upon himself the kind of evil reputation that men had feared and avoided for hundreds of years.

"We are not going to fight a battle that will bring you to ruin," the three generals said, speaking for all the men present. Their voices quaked with their tearful devotion.

Nobunaga, however, was determined, and he gave no indication that he would even hink twice about the three men's words. On the contrary, he became even more determined. "You may retire. Don't say anything more," he told them. "If you refuse to obey the order, I'll give it to someone else. And if the other generals and soldiers won't follow ne, then I'll do it myself, alone!"

"Why is it necessary to commit such an atrocity? I would think that a true general could bring about the fall of Mount Hiei without shedding a single drop of blood," Nobumori asked again.

"No more 'common sense'! There speaks eight hundred years of 'common sense.' If we don't burn out the roots of the old, the buds of the new will never sprout. You keep talking about this one mountain, but I'm not concerned only with Mount Hiei; burning it down is going to save the church everywhere else. If by slaughtering all the men, women, and children on Mount Hiei, I can open the eyes of the imprudent in other provinces, then I will have done some good. The hottest and deepest hells are nothing to my eyes and ears. Who else can do this but me? I have heaven's mandate to do it."

The three men, who believed that they, more than anyone else, knew Nobunaga's genius and methods, were appalled by this statement. Was their lord possessed by demons?

Takei Sekian pleaded, "No, my lord. No matter what orders you give us, as your retainers we can do nothing but try to dissuade you. You cannot burn a place sacred since ancient times—"

"That's enough! Shut up! In my heart I've received an Imperial decree to burn the place down. I'm giving you the order for this massacre because the mercy of the Founder, Saint Dengyo, is in my heart. Don't you understand?"

"No, my lord."

"If you don't understand, leave! Just don't get in the way."

"I'm going to object until you kill me yourself."

"You're already damned! Get out!"

"Why should I leave? Rather than watch my lord's insanity and the destruction of his clan in my lifetime, I can try to obstruct this with my own death. Look back to the many examples given by antiquity. Not one man who made a hellfire of Buddhist temples and shrines, or who massacred priests, has come to a good end."

"I'm different. I'm not going into battle for my own sake. In this battle, my role will be to destroy ancient evils and build a new world. I don't know whether this is the com­mand of the gods, the people, or the times; all I know is that I'm going to obey the orders I've received. You are all timid, and your view is limited. Your cries are the sorrows of small-minded people. The profit and loss you talk about only concerns me as an individ­ual. If my turning Mount Hiei into an inferno protects countless provinces and saves countless lives, then it will be a great achievement."

Sekian did not desist. "The people are going to see this as the work of demons. They will rejoice if you show a little humanity. Be too severe, and they'll never accept you— even if you are motivated by great love."

“If we hold back because of popular opinion, we won't be able to act at all. The heroes of antiquity feared popular opinion and left this evil to plague future generations.  But I’m going to show you how to extirpate it once and for all. If I'm going to do it, I must do it completely. If I don't, there's no point in taking up arms and marching toward the center of the field."

There are intervals even between the raging waves. Nobunaga's voice softened a little. His three retainers hung their heads, their protests almost exhausted.