During the late Muromachi period, at its peak, Negoro-ji Temple, located in Iwade City, Wakayama Prefecture, formed a major religious center with as many as 450 (some sources claim 2,700) priests’ residences. It held a vast temple estate of 720,000 koku and boasted a military force of over 10,000 warrior monks known as the Negoro Warriors. The sacred precinct of Negoro-ji, including the picturesque Seiten Pond, reflects the fallen cherry blossoms this year. Negoro-ji was founded by Kakuban, a monk from Mount Koya in the late Heian period. Kakuban, considered a learned monk following in the footsteps of Kukai, attempted to revive the faith at Mount Koya, which had declined at the time, and restore the teachings of the founder, Kukai. However, he was unable to achieve this and was driven out by the followers at Mount Koya, leading him to establish Negoro-ji at its current location. Subsequently, Negoro-ji grew into a major religious center as described earlier. In the era of the Warring States, not only warrior clans but also temples possessed numerous warrior monks. At that time, it was a monk of Negoro-ji who noticed the newly arrived matchlock gun on Tanegashima Island. They brought back the matchlock gun from Tanegashima and, using it as a model, had Sakai craftsmen produce the first matchlock gun in Japan. The matchlock gun quickly spread among the Warring States warlords, ultimately changing the course of Japanese history.

室町時代の末期の最盛期には坊舎450（一説には2,700とも）を数え、一大宗教都市を形成し、寺領72万石を数え、1万余の根来衆と呼ばれる僧兵軍団を擁した根来寺は、和歌山県岩戸市にあります。その名勝聖天池に浮かぶ聖天堂は、今年も散ったサクラが浮かんだ池にその影を映しています。根来寺は、平安時代後期の高野山の僧で、空海以来の学僧と言われた覚鑁(かくばん)が、当時堕落していた高野山の信仰を建て直し、宗祖・空海の教義を復興しようと努めたが果たせず、高野山内の衆徒に追い立てられる様に今の地に移り、立てた寺です。その後、根来寺は上にも述べた様に一大宗教都市を築き上げます。世は戦国時代で武士集団だけでなく、寺院も多くの僧兵を擁しました。当時、種子島に伝来したばかりの火縄銃に目を付けたのが根来寺の僧でした。その火縄銃を種子島から持ち帰り、それを手本に、堺の鍛治職人に日本で最初の火縄銃を作らせました。火縄銃は瞬く内に戦国武将にも広がり、日本の歴史を変える事になるのです。