At the period of the eleventh generation, Kennyo, who was a child of Shonyo, the Honganji Buddhist sect that became a virtually independent feudal lordship, expanded its influence into Kinai, which led to the confrontation with Nobunaga ODA, who tried to establish unified control by seizing seigniory from the religious power.
証如の子、第11代顕如のとき、事実上、自立した大名権力となっていた本願寺教団は、畿内に進出し、宗教勢力から領主権力を奪って統一支配を確立しようとする織田信長と対立することとなった。