Mount Hiei or “Hiei-zan” is a mountain found northeast of Kyoto and the home of the Enrakuji temple complex. Enrakuji was founded by the monk Saichō in 788 at the request of Emperor Kammu, and is the home base of Tendai Buddhism in Japan. In the Tale of Heike, Enryakuji is described as having immense religious authority backed up by military strength of "warrior monks" residing there. as well as their fighters who came to the aid of many groups and armies by making use of warrior monks. Even though these temples had the same religious beliefs, they went to war due to disputes over the Cloistered Emperor. This war between Miidera and Enrakuji temple became very violent and even Taira no Kiyomori gave aid to Enrakuji temple. Despite the assistance from Taira no Kiyomori, Enrakuji monks had lost, thus destroying the temple. The descriptions of the fight is mentioned in The Tale of the Heike’s second book under the 12th chapter called, “The Battle with the Rank and File Monks”. The aftermath of the war and the destruction of Enrakuji temple is further explained in this chapter under the 13th chapter called, “The Ruin of Mount Hiei”. Currently, Mount Hiei is a very popular tourist attraction due to it’s importance in Japanese history, Japanese literature, and even some current points in current literature. You can currently visit this shrine and go on tours and travel by the cable railways that are located at Mount Hiei. Also, there are many other nearby tourist attractions such as Biwako, also known as, “Lake Biwa”.
Sources:
[1] "Hiezan".Hieizan-Shinkoukaigi Official site.www.hieizan.gr.jp. 21, April 2018
[2] "Mii-dera Temple (Onjo-ji Temple)". Japan: The Official Guide (JNTO).www.jnto.go.jp. 21, April 2018
Additional Information About the Mountain's History [1]