The Saika ikki or Saiga Ikki (雑賀一揆), based in Ōta in the Kii Province (now part of Wakayama Prefecture) of Honshū, were one of many ikkō-ikki mercenary groups in feudal Japan.
In particular, the members of the Saika ikki, along with the monks of the Negoro-ji, were renowned for their expertise with the arquebus and for their expert gunsmiths and foundries.
Both of these groups came to the aid of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji, the central fortress-cathedral of the ikkō-ikki that was besieged by Oda Nobunaga from 1570 to 1580.
The town motto is translated to English as "stand strong and do not forget".
The monastery was attacked again in 1585 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in chastisement for their opposition to his former lord, Oda.