Iga ikki Iga Sokoku Ikki (伊賀惣国一揆) (Japanese) | |
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c. 1460–1581 | |
![]() Location of Iga Province | |
![]() Map of late 16th-century Iga Province during the Tenshō Iga War | |
Headquarters | Ueno 34°46′N 136°8′E / 34.767°N 136.133°E |
Religion | Shugendō (Tendai-Tantric Buddhism and Shinto) |
Government | Feudal military confederated republic |
Legislature | Military-elder council |
History | |
• Shinobi begin organizing in Iga | c. 1460 |
• The de facto independence of Iga is first mentioned | 1477 |
• Battle of Magari: Iga and Kōka assist Rokkaku Takayori in repelling an invasion by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa | 1487 |
• Constitutional document drafted | c. 1560 |
• First Tenshō Iga War | October 6–7, 1579 |
• Second Tenshō Iga War; organized governance destroyed | September 30–October 8, 1581 1581 |
Today part of | Japan |
The Iga ikki, full name Iga Sokoku Ikki, also known as the Iga Republic, Iga Confederacy, or Iga Commune, was a republic-style military confederation of ninjas (then known as shinobi) based in Iga Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. One of the two major schools of ninjutsu, Iga-ryū, is attributed to, and takes its name from, this confederation. During the second half of the 15th century, the ninja families in Iga formed a military confederacy dedicated to the defense of the province. After centuries of rivalry with its northern neighbor, Kōka District in Ōmi Province, eventually Iga worked closely with in alliance with Kōka. In the 16th century, a constitution was drafted based on principles of mutual defense and voluntary association. The confederacy produced legendary figures such as Momochi Sandayu , Fujibayashi Nagato , Hattori Hanzō, Tateoka Doshun, and Shimotsuge no Kizaru. The activities of Iga eventually drew the ire of the Oda clan, who launched invasions in 1579 and 1581. The first invasion was decisively repelled by Iga, but the second overwhelmed the Iga forces and Oda Nobunaga viciously destroyed the confederation. Some ninja were spared and their activities allowed to continue. After Nobunaga's assassination in 1582, Iga and Kōka ninja entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants into the Tokugawa shogunate.