Mongol Invasions of Japan

Mongol invasions of Japan
Part of the and Kublai Khan's Campaigns
The samurai Suenaga facing Mongol and Korean arrows and bombs
Date 1274, 1281 Location Northern Kyūshū, Japan Result Decisive Japanese victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire Yuan dynasty Goryeo (Korea)	Japan Imperial Court Kamakura shogunate Hōjō clan Sō clan Shōni clan Sashi clan Taira clan Kikuchi clan Ōtomo clan Shimazu clan Matsura clan
Commanders and leaders
Mongol : Kublai Khan Holdon Korea : King Wonjong Kim Bang-gyeong	Emperor Kameyama Hōjō Tokimune Shōni Sukeyoshi Ōtomo Yoriyasu Shōni Tsuneyasu Shōni Kageyasu Kikuchi Takefusa Takezaki Suenaga Michiyasu Shiroishi Fukuda Kaneshige Tōgō Korechika Hida Nagamoto Mitsui Yasunaga Sō Sukekuni Taira no Kagetaka Sashi Husashi Sashi Nao Sashi Tōdō Sashi Isamu Ishiji Kane Ishiji Jirō Yamashiro Kai
Strength
1274: a force of Mongol, Chinese and Korean soldiers, numbering 23,000-39,700 with 600–800 ships (300 large vessels and 400–500 smaller craft) 1281: two forces of Mongol, Chinese and Korean soldiers, numbering 100,000 and 40,000 with 3,500 and 900 ships (respectively)	1274: 10,000 In 1281: 40,000 (?) Reinforcements by Rokuhara Tandai : 60,000 (not yet arrived)
Casualties and losses
1274: 13,500–22,500 1281: 100,000 -130,500 20,000-30,000 captured	1274/1281: Minimal

Mongol Empire

Japan

1274: 13,500–22,500
1281: 100,000 -130,500

The Mongol invasions of Japan (元寇, Genkō^?), which took place in 1274 and 1281, were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of Goryeo (Korea) to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of macro-historical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in the history of Japan.

The Mongol invasions are considered a precursor to early modern warfare. One of the most notable technological innovations during the war was the use of explosive, hand-thrown bombs.

The invasions are referred to in many works of fiction, and are the earliest events for which the word kamikaze ("divine wind") is widely used, originating in reference to the two typhoons faced by the Mongol fleets.

After a series of Mongol invasions of Korea between 1231 and 1281, Goryeo signed a treaty in favor of the Mongols and became a vassal state. Kublai was declared Khagan of the Mongol Empire in 1260 (although this was not widely recognized by the Mongols in the west) and established his capital at Khanbaliq (within modern Beijing) in 1264.

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Wikipedia