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The Mongol Invasion in Japan
The Mongol Invasion in Japan
Japan
Introduction:
The Mongol invasion took in 1274 and 1281,
Kublai khan sent two huge fleet from Korea
and China to Japan and the samurai warriors
vigorously defended their shores.
Japan’s Miracle
Just when it appeared that the samurai
would be exterminated and Japan crushed
under the Mongol yoke, an incredible Miracle
happened.
August 15, 1281, a second typhoon roared
ashore at Kyushu. Of the khan's 4,400 ships,
only a few hundred rode out the towering
waves and vicious winds. Nearly all of the
invaders drowned in the storm, and those few
thousand who made it to shore were hunted
and killed without mercy by the samurai with
very few returning to tell the tale at Dadu.
The Japanese believed that their gods had
sent the storms to preserve Japan from the
Mongols. They called the two
storms kamikaze, or "divine winds." Kublai
Khan seemed to agree that Japan was
protected by supernatural forces, thus
abandoning the idea of conquering the island
nation.
Aftermath
However, the outcome was disastrous. The samurai
demanded payment for the three months, they'd spent
warding off the Mongols. In addition, this time the
priests who had prayed for divine protection added their
own payment demands, citing the typhoons as evidence
of the effectiveness of their prayers.
The bakufu still had little to dispense, and what
disposable riches they had were given to the priests.
Suenaga did not even try to seek payment, instead
commissioning the scroll where most modern
understandings of this period come from as a record of
his own accomplishments during both invasions.
After a complex civil war lasting 15 years, the
Kamakura bakufu was defeated and the Ashikaga
Shogunate assumed power over Japan. The Ashikaga
family and all the other samurai passed down the story
of the kamikaze, and Japan's warriors drew strength and
inspiration from the legend for centuries.
The Mongols would also fail in their attempts to
conquer Vietnam and Java, but after 1281 CE, they did
then establish a lasting peace over most of Asia,
the Pax Mongolica, which would endure until the rise
of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE). Kublai Khan
never gave up on the diplomatic route either and
continued to send unsuccessful missions to persuade
Japan to join the Chinese tribute system.
SOURCES
World History Encyclopedia:
https://www.ancient.eu/article/1415/the-
mongol-invasions-of-japan-1274--1281-ce/
ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-
mongol-invasions-of-japan-195559
WikiPediA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasi
ons_of_Japan