In the Muromachi period, Yoshinori ASHIKAGA, who was formerly known by Gien and had once been a temple head priest of the Tendai sect, was familiar with the military power and high-handedness of Sohei to conduct massive military operations in order to crack down on Enryaku-ji Temple (Nobunaga conducted similar operations later).
室町時代に、かつて義円と名乗り天台座主だった足利義教が、僧兵の軍事力と粗暴さを熟知しているため、延暦寺討伐に動き出して大規模の弾圧を実施した（後年の信長も同様のことをやっている）。