Mongol Invasions of Japan 1274 and 1281 - Full History

the mongol empire had under the leadership of chingas han known to us as genghis khan transitioned from a series of often squabbling tribes nestled in the mongolian steps to by 1206 a unified entity genghis khan would die in 1227 but his lands would be enlarged and further consolidated by his descendants one of those his grandson hushayhan or kubla khan who would expand the empire to its greatest extent the mongol empire would grow with spectacular military successes crushing kingdoms in all direction under hoof and arrow the savagery and mobility with which the mongol forces carried out their expansion was without equal to that point in time the mongols mobility born out of the steps a byproduct of their nomadic lifestyle while the horses they rode were not the fastest each mongol rider would often have several and rotate between them so they all got a break from being mounted they could cover up to 160 kilometers or 100 miles per day and as a result could descend fast and unpredictably like a storm distant on the horizon one moment then a sweeping maelstrom directly overhead the next along with their successes there would also be some spectacular failures one of those would be the small isolated island nation of japan they would send the winds of war japan's way and japan would counter with a storm of defiance the japanese had managed to avoid direct contact and conflict with the mongol empire as they had no official diplomatic relations with either of their direct neighbors china or korea other than trade and raiding they kept to themselves and their own affairs the mongols though had heard of japan as being a land of much golden riches marco polo had written this about japan the people on the island of zepangu have measureless quantities of gold the king's palace is roofed with pure gold and the floors are paved in gold two fingers thick this account was likely known to the khan as japan as a source of gold production had been well known to the rulers of china there are written accounts that previous delegations from china in earlier centuries had returned home with kilogram upon kilograms of gold these and other accounts all contributed to the legend of japan as a land of gold but in fact japan was more a land of silver the khan may have also had other more personal reasons for the invasion in 1266 kublai khan sent two envoys to japan with a letter stating that the two countries should establish friendly relations however there were statements made in the letter that while perhaps common for the mongols the japanese perceived as insulting the mention of their emperor as a mere king for one and the veiled hints at becoming a tributary vassal state the other the most egregious though perhaps was the last paragraph which seemed to imply the threat of war for non-compliance the end result of this first official contact would be envoys returning back empty-handed as would a second set of envoys in 1268 and additional ones sent in 1269 1271 and 1272 but those japan would not even allow to land on their shores japan had since the late 1100s been ruled by a military dictatorship located in kamakura under the control of the hojo the emperor whose court resided in kyoto was functionally more of a figurehead the emperor kamiyama's chamberlain had written an edict stating that a ninoi curse would be levied against the mongols this coupled with the later tsunami storm would lay the foundation for future divinity legends surrounding the protection of japan the japanese culture would continue to meld divinity in nature as they had since their animist past even under buddhism and shintoism the samurai was also likened to cherry blossoms as his life while glorious was prone to sudden end during military service similar to petals shed by cherry blossoms as indicated previously the real power in japan lay with the kamakura shogunate technically under the shogun but in reality its de facto head was hojo to kimune who had inherited the title as the sixth reigning hojo chicken or regent from his father in 1256 due to his father's failing health neither the khan nor the hojo would directly take part in the fighting that was to come two armies that differed considerably in appearance tactics and armaments while both prided themselves as horseback archers their approach to it was very different the samurai firing the arrows on horseback were heavily armored in the 13th century and they rode smaller horses than the mongols did while the mongols also had heavy cavalry their archers tended to be organized in a looser configuration than their japanese counterparts and they were more light cavalry armor-wise the mongols would deliver their also shorter arrows in huge volleys from their ranks whereas the japanese method was to send but a single arrow against a chosen and hopefully worthy opponent to earn him honor and glory on the battlefield the tactical formation of the japanese was more war banned in approach with each led by a prominent samurai and his followers as mentioned the japanese would traditionally send the single arrow with a special signaling tip that would whistle as it flew to initiate the combat the mongols meanwhile fought with more rank-and-file structure often using drums to signal battlefield maneuvers they had also access to chinese inventions such as exploding grenade-like bombs made of both paper and iron and delivered by catapults these were among the first examples of gunpowder explosions heard in japan the samurai arms and armor consisted of the following an armor called yoroi it was made from small scales tied together and lacquered then combined into armor plates by binding them together with silk cords or ones made of leather this created a flexible defensive armor capable of absorbing the high impact energy of enemy blows both iron and leather were used as a fully iron suit was deemed too heavy thus the iron was used for the most protective portions of the armor the body of the yodoi armor consisted of four main sections two large shoulder plates fastened at the back by a large ornamental bow with two guards to protect the tying cords from being cut then there were the arm sections that provided free movement while keeping the body covered next was the helmet made from iron plates fastened together with large projecting conical rivets with the neck protected via a heavy five-piece neck guard some samurai would also wear face masks generally the shooting arm was kept armor free to more easily allow arrows to be fired quickly and efficiently each samurai would also have a sword forged by a celebrated master and it was one of the most prized gifts that a samurai could receive from a leader these swords were almost reaching their zenith of perfection by the time of the mongol invasions their long curved blades were razor sharp and could cut deeply into the brigandine-like coats of enemies like the mongols lastly the japanese bow they were longer bows made out of deciduous wood and backed with bamboo for added reinforcement they were lacquered to weatherproof them and used bamboo arrows on horseback the bow was held high to the head to clear the horse with the drawing hand pulled back to the ear in contrast the mongol army while often said to have been lightly armored was in fact very diverse while the common soldiers and horseback archers were more lightly armored the mongols also had contingents of heavy cavalry units who appeared depicted in the japanese mongol invasion scrolls the lighter armor worn by those lighter units formed the foundation for all units including the heavier armored ones it was a heavy coat fastened by a leather belt at the waist which also carried the sword dagger and sometimes even an axe boots were stout but comfortable and made from felt and leather the head covered in a hat made of felt and fur the heavier armored units had over top of this a coat made in the asiatic style of lumler armor which consisted of small scales of iron or leather or combined and then pierced with holes and sewn together via leather thongs they wore helmets made from a number of large iron pieces shaped roughly into a conical shape and featured iron-plated neck guards much like the samurai armor the heavy cavalry horses would likewise be protected by lumilar armor [ __ ] bows were shorter than the japanese ones they were composite reflex bows and design made from yak horn sinew and bamboo glued together into a single set piece the bow was strung against the natural curve giving it an exceptionally strong pull each archer typically carried multiple bows and a quiver with both regular and poison tipped arrows they also carried rounded wooden shields for personal protection and their swords were slightly curved and saber-like in design by 1271 the mongols had dealt successive blows to the chinese song dynasty south of the growing mongol empire the impact of this was the symbolic transition of the mongol empire from nomadic dwellers in tents to the more sedentary rulers of a civilized state the mongols had crept even closer to japan by initiating an invasion of korea in the year 1231 despite valiant efforts by both its military and civilians the mongol attacks were relentless there were moments of peace but over the decades the mongols would send in wave after wave and eventually by 12 59 the koreans battle weary capitulated by the year 1273 the mongols had unified their korean invasion by marrying themselves into the korean royal family they would now have two separate coastal areas with which to launch an invasion against japan numbers for the invasion fleet and the japanese defenders for the first invasion attempt vary wildly the likely numbers for the mongol expedition force likely 30 000 strong with hundreds of ships the japanese force based on the number of samurai band and average number of each indicated that their force is likely numbered between four and eight thousand this would indicate a ratio of mongol to japanese of roughly six to one the invasion fleet set sail on the second of november 1274 from the southern end of the korean peninsula they first reached the island of tsushima which is featured in the video game ghost of tsushima the island consisted of two main islands separated by a narrow strait the mongols would use a two-pronged assault hitting both islands via four places on its western coast each island they attacked at two spots with the main bulk of their force hitting the southern island at sasura their vessels spotted by islanders on the evening of the 4th of november this provided the island's deputy gedo a man by the name of sous kikuni with some time to hastily scramble together a defense the japanese were superstitious in the sense they believed in kami or spirits and omens on the day the mongols approached a shrine dedicated to hachiman the god of war caught on fire while the fire was quickly extinguished supposedly as messengers were to deliver news of this as a bad omen just then the flock of white doves landed upon the shrine's roof and it was then instead interpreted as a warning not as a disaster skikuni's command consisted of 80 mounted samurai warriors and their followers he led them over a mountain pass at night to take up positions near the mongol main assault landing force at cesura it must have been a tense wait for dawn for dawn however would not arrive before the mongols at roughly 2 am they landed and intense ferocious fighting would break out at 4 am sukuni had taken an interpreter along to see if discourse with the mongols was possible but it was not as the mongol reply would be a volley of arrows fired overhead as a thousand of their warriors from the beach head charged the japanese skikuni had his samurai return of ali averro's back and their precision archery managed to kill many of the mongols but yet they charged as the fighting raged on the beaches two japanese boats managed to slip through the mongol fleet to take a message to the rest of the japanese islands that the war had started saito skesada one of kikuni's closest men had enthusiastically attacked and killed a high-ranking senior mongol officer who along with his group had gotten stuck in a grove of beachside trees the mongols returned fire at him first with a stone hurling catapult then of ali of arrows three of which pierced deeply into his chest half of skikkuni's followers would die from the overwhelming mongol numbers but even as their number dropped below half and then a quarter they fought on bravely until all including skikkuni were dead the mongols would set fire to every building in the vicinity and slaughter most of the inhabitants they would spend another nine days securing the island before leaving to head for the smaller island of iki to the south on the 13th of november the deputy jedo there a man by the name of taira kagetaka was said to have hailed from the family by the same name that was defeated during the empire war kagetaka had received word of the coming mongols while he was at his castle headquarters he immediately sent urgent word to decipher on the main south island of japan for reinforcements kagitaka and his followers fought similarly on the beaches when the mongols landed they had arrived later in the day so despite losing half his men the mongols would retreat back to their ships at nightfall giving kagetaka and his men some reprieve so he ordered what was left of them back to his castle in the castle they hoped to hold out and protect the women and children until mainland reinforcements could come by morning though they were surrounded by the full landing force and their red bannered war tugs the japanese women would take up arms in an attempt to bolster the defense but the mongols shattered the castle's front gate and with no relief forces having arrived to assist kagetaka prepared to lead his men out with a final arrow assault and charge however when they arrived in the open courtyard hundreds of their fellow countrymen from the surrounding villages had been tied up into a human shield in response some of the japanese dropped their bows unsheathed their swords and charged at the mongols although they were said to have fought valiantly the mongols overwhelmed them and kagetaka and his family and most of his senior men would commit ritual suicide all would be slaughtered save one kagetaka's daughter whom he had sent to decipher with one of his trusted samurai the day before the mongols would next turn their attention towards the main japanese islands the japanese at the regional seat of government and desi had already been alerted by messengers of the events in tsushima and iki and surmised correctly that to get there the mongols most likely safe landing spot would be hakara bay enthusiastic defense preparations were made japanese records indicated that in the surrounding nine provinces horsemen gathered each trying to outdo the other shoni koneski the younger brother of the shugo would take up defensive positions near the hachiman shrine the mongol plan was to move eastwards along the coast to hakata and then turn inland up the river to decipher accounts state that the pace of the fighting was initiated by the mongols they disembarked from their ships mounted their horses raised their red war banners and began their attack as they had the previous two occasions it was said that the japanese grandson of one of the commanders loosed a single arrow to initiate combat per tradition this was said to have been met with raucous laughter from the mongols they used tactics that were so unfamiliar to the japanese such as advancing on foot in large dense groups protected by shields the japanese meanwhile had to this point generally fought more as individuals in those warbands seeking out worthy opponents to accrue glorious accounts of individual prowess the mongols quickly secured the heights of the landing areas where the generals gave commands to beat those war drums these commands indicated whether troops should retreat in times of trouble or advance the mongols would also surround pre-arranged japanese positions and use their explosive iron and paper balls strategically whenever they advanced or had to retreat the mongols pushed through the japanese at the beach and towards dezife the japanese preparing to make their last stand at mizuki castle which was the lone buffer left between them and deci the mongols would arrive by dusk of that same landing day having quickly moved inland the defenders were under the command of shoni koneske he managed to shoot a senior mongol commander who was said to have been over six and a half feet tall or 2.1 meters shooting him in the face and capturing his horse there's speculation that the loss of all these commanders was the reason the mongols did not push on to decipher the mongols would instead retreat back to the beaches and the ship's butt burning all in their path back sparing no one they were estimated to have lost a third of their forces though while this would be from the japanese point of view most certainly a victory we don't know exactly what the mongol initial plan was perhaps it was a hit and run raid meant to sow fear and force a capitulation we've no records of kublai khan's reaction to the invasion or how much he knew what we do know is that the next year he again sent two envoys to japan the envoys based on records did not take the most direct route perhaps they had some glimpse of what fate awaited them for they would take two months to arrive and no sooner would they arrive with their great khan's message than they would be beheaded nothing similar had been recorded occurring to the previous mongol envoys to japan the khan's hope likely that the japanese were ready to capitulate before a second invasion attempt but the message that they sent back via the beheadings was one that capitulation would not happen easily when kublai khan finally received word about the disastrous first invasion he would attempt to send troops to korea to prepare for a second but he would rescind the order as this was when his armies were in their final push to the song's southern capital shown earlier the great khan therefore must have realized focusing his eastern military efforts on the song's capital was the more prudent plan this would provide the japanese with seven years of intervening peace but they would regardless make preparations for what they likely knew was a delayed but incoming storm they would make preparations both of a physical defensive nature but also based on their perceptions of events religious ones as well the physical preparations included the construction of a long defensive wall along the shore of hakada bay the length close to 20 kilometers in its entirety east to west it was built in most places roughly 50 meters from the shore and meant to hold the mongols at bay to provide enough time for countermeasures those who displayed cowardice during the first invasion were dealt with and heroes displaying valor and courage were rewarded a new round of recruitment for samurai was also initiated in 1276 one that was irrespective of their vassal status they had also planned to preemptively raid korea but did not end up committing the resources they did not bolster the defenses on ikea or tsushima however indicating their acceptance of both likely being overrun and their confidence being placed instead on the potential beachhead again at hakata bay in 1277 they learned of the defeat of the southern song and must have known the mongols would once again cast an eye towards their shores in 1279 the khan would send yet another last-ditch envoy attempt but like their predecessors they too were executed upon landing on japanese shores the following year in 1280 he would summon a top-level conference at one of his summer palaces to discuss the strategy for the second invasion having learned lessons from the first it was clear this one would be of a much larger scale the wreckage of mongol ships that were found contained farming implements on them indicating the mongols were prepared for a permanent long-term occupation of japan also different was this attack would be two-pronged one fleet from korea as before and a second this time from southern china it's clear that these were still not always the best soldiers as those were likely engaged elsewhere in the empire as records show that prisoners were given commuted sentences to serve in the second invasion and despite the contribution from southern china korea would again bear a disproportionate portion of the burden while 600 warships were commissioned from the chinese the koreans had to prepare 900. again troop estimates were prone to exaggeration and either under or overestimated depending on which side tells the account best estimates are an army roughly three times the size of the mongol force from 1274 and the japanese also likely much larger than the defense of force from the previous attempt the order from the khan to attack japan was given on the first lunar month in the year 1281 the eastern assault from korea would be carried out similarly to the first invasion a chinese fleet consisting of the south of the yangtze force would sail across 768 kilometers of ocean to meet up with the eastern forces and then combine near the island of iki for a single massive attack the mongol military general arakan was given supreme command of the invading forces and he would travel with a southern fleet the eastern route mongol army from korea set sail on the 22nd of may 1281 but took longer than the first fleet in 1274 to arrive at tsushima arriving on the 9th of june without recorded reinforcement and resign to the same fate of his late father so moriaki son of skesada would meet the overwhelming mongol landing party and die 300 islanders would be killed and of these some had taken children and women to hide in the mountains but mongol patrols found these two and slaughtered them what forces the japanese did have on the islands were on iki which the mongols breached on the 14th of june a japanese army under the command of shoni sukitoki and yuzo sukitoki said to have been in the low thousands to meet the mongols on the western ikey beaches where they were routed and killed the mongols were to have waited for the southern army to arrive but for some unrecorded reason they did not attacking both islands immediately instead it's likely that spies from china provided intelligence on the wall defense at hakkada even after ikki the mongol eastern fleet did not wait for the south to join them instead splitting their eastern fleet in two one to attack hakata and the other to head east and attack nagato at the tip of honshu this occurred on the 25th of june but details are scarce we do know that there's no recorded damage only rumors that the fleet had been seen the eastern fleet half that was to land at hakata bay did not have the anticipated element of surprise the japanese had not only manned sections of the wall with archers but breaking with tradition had received direct orders to fully cooperate as a whole mongol crafts that made attempts to land on the shores were met with volleys of arrows from archers hidden behind the walls where they could not return fire while the mongols did not likely incur heavy casualties they did make a decision to delay landing for now and instead take possession of the two bay islands of shiga and noko although shiga island was really more of a peninsula and that it was connected by a thin strip of sandbar to the mainland the japanese though rather than sit back would take the fight to the mongol ships that laid anchor they attacked via the sandbar on foot but their most successful tactic was one of utilizing a large number of smaller vessels to attack the much larger ocean-going mongol fleet the mass of the small ships providing makeshift bridges by which to climb on board the mongol vessels some samurai were said to have swam over to the mongol ships to attack we know that those successful boarding attempts resulted in the taking of mongol heads for future reward ultimately it would be the success though of the little ship raids that would pay the largest dividend for the japanese against their invader foe finally on the seventh lunar month in july the southern fleet arrived plans between them would be fleshed out over the course of july and would result in a new target the island of takashima roughly 50 kilometers further west of hakada bay on the 12th of august as the mongol fleet neared takashima the japanese little ship fleets were there to meet them fighting initiated almost immediately and it raged on through the night for many bloody hours while details of the storms said to have assisted the japanese during the first invasion are suspect there is definitive archaeological evidence for a great storm assisting them during the second as the ship battles raged on for days with the mongols not able to make any landing attempts and the japanese likely being mostly fended off in the more open water neither side could make much headway at some point later in the month of august which is midway during typhoon season a storm came rolling in as it neared it intensified in its ferocity it was recorded that ships near the shore collided with each other snapping free or flailing about at the end of their anchor ropes men were washed overboard and drowned or dashed against the rocky shores nearby those in the deeper waters cut anchor to try to ride out the storm the sound of splitting timber must have rivaled that of the storm collapse itself we don't have exact numbers for the loss of life but a korean source says that of the 27 000 korean sent on the eastern route 7500 did not return indicating a casualty rate of roughly 30 percent it's interesting in that the chinese and mongol sources indicate a casualty rate of 60 to 90 was this perhaps to save face again speculation as we don't have definitive evidence those boats that had cut free would make their way back to china and korea abandoning any survivors who managed to wash up on the shores to their fate and their fate being slaughter at the hands of the japanese who carefully rounded the shorelines and the waters in vessels killing any and all survivors some sources say though that the song chinese whom the japanese felt were coerced into joining the attack on japan were spared but even their fate would be that of slaves speculation on the discrepancy between the korean and mongol chinese estimates rages on to this day with some feeling that the eastern fleet was more battle-hardened but again we don't have definitive evidence a third attempt was tossed around but soon the khan would be embroiled in a series of frontier battles and the invasion of japan would fade into history but not in japan there it would become a source of national pride and a sort of divinity cult would arise around the kamikaze which they would call the great typhoon that struck the mongol fleet and here ends the mongol invasions of japan hopefully you enjoyed it if you did please hit that like button if you haven't yet and enjoy the content on this channel consider subscribing i'd love to have you on board and as always until the next video cheers

Channel: Yore History

Views: 133,371

Keywords: Mongol Invasion of Japan, Ghost of Tsushima, Samurai, Mongol Empire, Hakata Bay, Mongol Warriors, 1274, 1281, Ancient Japan, Mongol Invasions of Japan, Mongol History, Mongol Army Structure, Mongol Weapons, Mongol Armor, Japanese Armor, Japanese Army Structure, Samurai Armor, Samurai Weapons, Mongol Invasions Japan, southern song china

Id: S1hz8DETxIY

Length: 30min 44sec (1844 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 28 2020