Ikkō-ikki (一向一揆, "Ikkō-shū Uprising") were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or daimyō.

Whilst he may have used the religious fervour of the Ikkō-ikki in the defence of his temple settlements, he was also careful to distance himself from the wider social rebellion of the Ikkō movement as a whole, and from offensive violence in particular.

With recent improvements in firearms at the time, the Ikko-ikki movement would be able to rise very suddenly as a menacing force which presented a credible threat to the government, as a peasant or merchant could transform himself into a capable mobile cannoneer in mere days.

[1] According to George Sansom, "The Ikko (Single-Minded) sect of Nenbutsu, or Buddha-calling ... is a branch of the worship of Amida developed from the teaching of Shinran into an aggressive doctrine of salvation by faith."

In the 13th century, the jizamurai, a new class of small landowners, "formed leagues (ikki) for mutual defence", since they came from "good warrior families, long established in their own districts, and they were determined to protect their interests, both economic and social, against newcomers", according to Sansom.

At the conclusion of the Ōnin War, in 1477, "many of the members of the numerous ikki" occupied the monasteries and shrines, and "would ring the warning bells day and night, hoping to terrify the rich citizens", according to Sansom.

The ikki attracted the ire of the likes of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga due to the economic and political threat they posed, more so than as a result of their military might.

Ishiyama Hongan-ji and other strongholds of the ikki lay across major trade routes and occupied the same areas that Nobunaga saw as his primary territorial objectives.

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.