Mongol Invasions of Japan
Hakata Bay, Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan
What happened
Fleets sent by Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, fought Japan's samurai, whose defence was led by the regent Hōjō Tokimune. In 1274 a Mongol fleet landed at Hakata Bay, but a storm damaged it and it sailed away. Japan then built a stone wall about 20 km long along the bay. When a much larger fleet came in 1281, the wall stopped it landing, and a typhoon destroyed much of the fleet at anchor.
Why it matters
Why it matters: Japan was never conquered by the Mongols, and the invasions marked a limit to Mongol expansion. The storms were called 'kamikaze', or 'divine wind', the first use of that word.
What came next
The shogunate's government had no new land to give its warriors as rewards, which weakened its authority. Raids by pirates called wokou increased along the coasts.
Did you know?
Underwater archaeologists have found exploding shells filled with gunpowder in a shipwreck from the invasions.
Timeline
- 1268Mongol messengers first arrive in Japan.
- November 1274The first invasion fleet lands at Hakata Bay and withdraws after a storm.
- 1276Work begins on the stone wall around Hakata Bay.
- 15 August 1281A typhoon wrecks much of the second invasion fleet.
- 1931The wall becomes a National Historic Site.