Siege of Nara

Siege of Nara
	Part of the Genpei War
	; A model of the Great Buddha Hall of Tōdai-ji that was burnt down in this siege (Founded in the 8th century)
Date	January 15th 1181 Julian Calendar (December 28th, 1180 Jishō Calendar)
Location	Nara, Japan
Result	Taira victory; much of city destroyed
Belligerents
Taira clan	Warrior monks of various Nara temples
Commanders and leaders
Taira no Shigehira; Taira no Tomomori;	Ygaku
Strength
Initial Mission: 500 samurai; Battle: 40,000 (likely exaggerated) or ~3,000;	7,000 monks
Casualties and losses
Unknown	3,500 civilians, and 1,000 warrior monks

The siege of Nara (南都焼討, Nantō Yakiuchi) alternatively known as the Nanto Arson Campaign in Japan is an event which took place on January 15th 1181 (December 28th 1180 in the Jishō calendar), following Prince Mochihito and Minamoto no Yorimasa's defeat and subsequent death to the Taira clan, after which the Taira forces burnt down the Miidera temple (which had sheltered the anti-Taira forces), before moving on to Nara, where they "set fire to the monastic complexes of Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji."