Declining aristocracy and emerging new power
Heishi (or Taira) Regime (1167 — 1185)
In 1156, dispute of family members of Emperor developed to the battle between Samurai armies of each family group (Hogen-no-ran (Hogen war)), which later developed to more decisive struggle of Heiji-no-ran (Heiji war) in 1159 where Taira-no-Kiyomori, leader of Heishi (Taira) forces, wiped out Genji forces of opposing family. It gave dominant power to Kiyomori, who eventually got promoted to Daijo Daijin (Grand Minister of State) in 1167. He was the first Samurai warrior who grabbed this highest position, which led to the historical power shift from palace politics to the governance by Samurai warriors.
Power-hungry Kiyomori didn’t stop there. Throwing his weight around, he arranged marriage of his daughter Tokuko and Emperor Takakura in 1171. Now, not surprisingly, most of the high-ranked positions are occupied by Kiyomori’s loyal cadres.
Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, 13 years old, banished in 1160 after the Heiji war
In the Heiji war, most of the leading warriors of Genji family were killed. 13-year-old Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, son of the leader, was thus sentenced to death. However, his life was narrowly saved by the plea of Ike-no-zenni, the stepmother of Taira-no-Kiyomori, and he was banished to the remote Izu Peninsula. (This ruling later proved a fatal mistake of Kiyomori.)
The Izu area was controlled by a local strongman, Hojo Tokimasa, who initially acted as the watchdog of Yoritomo. The banished Yoritomo seems treated with respect, however, probably because of his noble lineage (the Genji family was descended from Emperor Seiwa). While the Heike clan was wielding its power, Yoritomo spent about 20 years without standing out.
The history opened a new door, however, when Yoritomo married Hojo Masako, the eldest daughter of Tokimasa. By then, the high-handed and arbitrary rule of Taira-no-Kiyomori and his clan had already provoked frustration and resentment among imperial family members and many regional leaders suppressed by Heike power. Ironically, the anti-Kiyomori tumult drew even dissatisfied Heike families who were given cold shoulders by Kiyomori. A hidden storm was brewing.
The tide turns
–Mochihito-O’s counterattack —
On April 9th, 1180, Mochihito-O, a prince of Grand Emperor Goshirakawa, finally burst out in anger and issued an order to Genji family survivors and anti-Heike regional rulers to wipe out Taira-no-Kiyomori and his clan. Kiyomori had long delayed recognition of Mochihito-O’s official title for registered prince, or rather put it in mothballs to arrange his grandson’s accession to the throne of emperor (Emperor Antoku) in 1180. Kiyomori’s high-handed actions deteriorated even relations with Grand Emperor Goshirakawa. In the previous year, Kiyomori tentatively confined Goshirakawa to ignore his command and sacked his 40 courtiers. Mochihito-O couldn’t remain unscathed. He was deprived of some part of his fiefdom—the source of his power.
Mochihito-O’s directive was brought to Yoritomo, too. Yoritomo, though shut in remote place of Izu, was gradually gathering power there as a direct line of blue-blooded Genji family, a descendant of Seiwa Emperor, and also as the son-in-law of Hojo Tokimasa, lord of Izu area. The time has come. But, his hunch told him something, and he watched how Mochihito-O’s rising moves.
Things don’t always go as planned. Unfortunately for Mochihito-O, his uprising plan leaked out to Heike before he could mobilize enough force of anti-Heike parties. Kiyomori immediately took action to wipe out Mochihito-O and his supporters before the ripple turns into a huge wave. A fierce battle was waged at Uji river, and Mochihito-O ended his unappreciated life without beating Kiyomori.
Heike family sighed in relief — for a moment. However, the rallying cry of Mochihito-O started spreading like wildfire, igniting fuse of rebellion among ill-treated powerful local clans: such as Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (known as Kiso Yoshinaka), Kai Genji, O-mi Genji, and Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Yoritomo couldn’t wait and see, though. With mounting tension, he was facing possible attack by the troops of Heike which started smashing rebellious clans and less submissive ones as well. Regrettably for Kiyomori, however, it invited chain-reaction of anti-Heike uprisings in many places. All of a sudden, the country started boiling.
— Yoritomo’s battle cry–
The first target was the Izu district governor of imperial court — actually controlled by Heike family. On August 17th, 1180, Yoritomo attacked and killed the target — now, his long and arduous days of fight against Heike clan started. Next battle was harder, though. With some hoped-for local clans still sitting on the fence, he dared assault next Heike-affiliated fiefdom spreading at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
The day was August 23rd, 1180—seven days after the first battle. Yoritomo was facing off against Heike troops at Ishibashi-yama, the foot of Izu Peninsula. Alas, things didn’t turn out as planned, however. His 300-strong force was facing 3,000-strong enemy, since Yoritomo’s allied forces were blocked by swelling Sakaoi River before reaching the battlefield. It was a desperate fighting for him. Yoritomo’s troops were crushed down, and he was prepared to die.
Then, a miracle happened! A unit leader who probably joined Heike troops grudgingly showed him a hideaway trail leading to deep mountains. Yoritomo and a few guards were moving around in the mountains for a few days. When they were hiding in a cave, however, another unit leader came in to find them. Finished! Yoritomo drew his sword to kill himself. Then the man, Fujiwara Kagetoki, got out the cave and shouted, “Nobody is here, go to the next mountain to search.” (When Yoritomo has established his headquarters in Kamakura, Kagetoki is hired to become a leading member of the government and lead a punitive force against Heike clan.)
Narrowly survived, Yoritomo finally reached a small port of Manazuru peninsula, and got away by a ship to a safe place in Awa-no-kuni, the opposite side of a big bay (currently called Tokyo Bay). Yoritomo landed there on August 29th, and immediately began to rally powerful local clans again. They joined Yoritomo one after another including those sitting on the fence before. By the end of September, most clans in Kanto area (Chiba, Tokyo, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures as we know it today) joined Yoritomo. On October 6th, with 25,000-strong forces, Yoritomo arrived at Kamakura, where his father and elder brother had wielded power as a leading clan. Now the base for Shogunate governance of Kamakura era is established.
–Battle at Fuji river–
Yoritomo’s uprising was immediately reported to Tairano-no-Kiyomori, leading minister of the imperial court and head of Heike clans. He wasted no time to dispatch punitive force. Now, however, Heike was facing emerging challengers nationwide. The enemy was not only Yoritomo. Mochihito-O’s order put fire on the hostile feeling of other Genji family survivors: notably Kai Genji led by Takeda Nobuyoshi (Kai: present-day Yamanashi prefecture behind Mt. Fuji) and Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (known as Kiso Yoshinaka) ruling Kiso area (present-day Nagano prefecture). (Yoshinaka later kicked Heike families out of Kyoto, but provoked anger of the court aristocracy by his barbaric acts, and was eventually destroyed by Yoritomo.)
When the army corps of Heike arrived at Fuji river flowing down the foot of Mt. Fuji, they found a huge number of allied forces of Yoritomo and Kai Genji on the other side of the river. Heike also mobilized some 70 thousand soldiers before reaching the battle field. That said, Heike’s hastily mobilized army was a patchwork of various clans with limited motivation to fight. Thus, many clans broke off on the way, and the troops reduced to several thousands of soldiers when they arrived at the river. When they saw the vast wave of Genji troops on the other side, some other troops started turning around. On that night, Heike army suddenly pulled out without fighting any battle. An anecdote goes: When a troop of Kai Genji was quietly crossing the river for night raid, a cluster of waterfowls flew off beating their wings. Taking it as a sudden raid of Genji troops, stunned Heike army plunged into chaos, and ran away leaving their arms behind.
–Yoritomo and Yoshitsune: Reunion of brothers–
Successfully beating off the Heike troops, both Genji clans returned to their strongholds to further consolidate power by wiping out neighboring insubordinate clans. On the way back, Yoritomo had a young visitor: Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, a half younger brother, who also spent young days hiding in Hiraizumi, the power center of Fujiwara clan dominating vast northern area of the country. This young brother soon becomes Yoritomo’s spearhead to completely wipe out Heike clans, and then, of all things, destroys himself by his overconfidence, involving Hiraizumi (continued to another chapter).
— February 4th, 1181–
The day came—doomsday for Heike clans. Taira-no-Kiyomori, the unchallenged heavyweight of the time, growling with high fever finally ended his life in the heat whirling around like flames—a chronicle of Heike & Genji paints the final moment. The invincible grip of Heike clans was facing the looming storm.
Failed Shogun-to-Be: Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (Popularly known as “Kiso Yoshinaka”)
Mochihito-O’s order also stirred another descendant of a blue-blooded family, Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (Kiso Yoshinaka), who was a cousin of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Though they shared the same family blood, their relationship was far from unified but rather cold and distant. Power struggles often tear down even a family. Kiso Yoshinaka’s father was killed by the elder brother Yoshitomo (Yoritomo’s father) before all the Minamoto (Genji) families were crushed down by Taira-no-Kiyomori (Heike). If there were any tentative go-between for Yoshinaka and Yoritomo, it could be none other than the devil or battle against Taira-no-Kiyomori.
Waiting for more than 20 years in the Kiso Mountains, Yoshinaka finally grabbed the golden opportunity to restore the family honor. Even Mochihito-O’s death on the battlefield didn’t stop him. Burning up with ambition, he rallied anti-Heike families in the Kiso area, and started battle against Heike-related families. Now, raging Taira-no-Kiyomori ordered Jo Nagamochi, Heike-vassal dominator of the Echigo area (today’s Niigata Prefecture), to crush Yoshinaka and his aligned forces. In June 1181, Nagamochi came down from Echigo 10,000-strong with troops, whereas Yoshinaka’s forces were merely 3000-strong. No one, except his camp fighters, bet on Yoshinaka.
Nonetheless, it happened. Yoshinaka blew them up eventually.
How?
A unit carrying the Heike’s red-colored flag came down along the river to join Nagamochi’s troops. When the unit reached the line of troops, its fighters suddenly flung the Heike flag away, and charged into the Nagamochi troops, triggering sudden, unexpected disruption. At that moment, Yoshinaka’s troops crossed the river to drive out the Nagamochi troops running around in confusion. Shrewd tactics turned the tables.
This victory brought massive power to Yoshinaka. Not only occupying Echigo, he now also controlled Hokurikudo, the main artery for carrying cargo along the seaside (including cargo for the Heike). In the next year, 1182, Yoshinaka offered shelter to Hokuroku-no-Miya, eldest son of the late Mochihito-O. Now, he gained the official banner to fight against the Heike clans. Just as Minamoto-no-Yoritomo was looming as a formidable power on the other side of the land (Pacific Ocean-side), Kiso Yoshinaka was now another menace to Heike domination. In April 1183, the Heike started a massive assault against Yoshinaka by mobilizing 100,000 troops. Contrarily, Yoshinaka’s troops were a mere 30,000-strong. It was a one-sided fight, and the Heike troops broke through Yoshinaka’s resistance lines in various places. Yoshinaka, however, narrowly fought back at the battle of Hannyano with surprise attacks, which forced the Heike troops back to a mountain area called Kurikara-tohge (Kurikara Path) to pull together their forces. For Yoshinaka, who grew up in the mountains and learned how to fight in the rough terrain, this deployment of the Heike troops was a perfect chance. Thus, he turned the tables again — by night raid this time. In the dark, Heike troops were thrown into confusion, and tumbled down the cliff or ran away from the battlefield. The Heike’s full-scale attack turned into a debacle.
Yoshinaka, now an unstoppable winner, started marching to the capital. Facing the imminent assault of Yoshinaka and other Genji families, Heike families deserted the capital for western territories. They took Emperor Antoku to insist on their legitimacy of authority. However, grand emperor Goshirakawa, who narrowly escaped from the hand of the Heike, took the command of governance in the capital. He immediately glorified leaders of Genji families who had pushed back the Heike’s sphere of influence. Number 1 was Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, and Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (Kiso Yoshinaka) was also highly praised as the next contributor. Then, the grand emperor appointed Yoshinaka to the top of the police force of the capital to calm its confusion. Did it work? Regrettably not, or rather it backfired. Yoshinaka’s army group was a mixed bag, since some clans that were sitting on the fence joined Yoshinaka’s bandwagon after the battle of Kurikara Path. In fact, those undisciplined soldiers looted foods and forages for horses, and Yoshinaka didn’t stop it, or rather defended them.
Thus, the grand emperor was unexpectedly troubled by the rough, violent character of Yoshinaka, and started to remove him from the power center. In response, Yoshinaka put the imperial court under his control by force, and of all things confined the grand emperor to a house of a senior official. Then, he gained the title of supreme commander, and furthermore demanded the accession of Hokuroku-no-Miya, son of the late Mochihito-O, to the throne of emperor.
By then, however, war-proficient Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, younger brother of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, was approaching the capital. Boiling with rage, the grand emperor issued an order to Yoritomo to oust Kiso Yoshinaka. At that moment, Yoshinaka’s fate was sealed. By then, some clans disappointed with Yoshinaka broke away from him, and his two-month rule (and his life) was ended by Yoshitsune at the battle on Uji River.
For the Establishment of Shogunate Governance
–The final battle at the strait Danno-ura–
Immediately after wiping out Kiso Yoshinaka and his troops, Yoritomo’s younger brothers, Yoshitsune and Noriyori stormed the Heike’s troops next and drove them further west.
The final countdown for the Heike’s destruction started in August 1184, when Yoritomo’s corps—headed by Noriyori—departed from Kamakura for the all-out attack against the Heikes. They first tried to land on Kyushu, a southwestern island separated from the mainland by a strait, to attack the Heike forces from behind while blocking their retreat. However, Noriyori’s advance was stalled by the Heike’s naval forces. Stirred by this deadlock, Yoshitusne—stationed in Kyoto as the deputy of supreme commander Yoritomo in Kamakura—requested that grand emperor Goshirakawa (“not” Yoritomo) let him leave the capital to join the Genji forces on the battlefield. Yoshitsune’s target was the Heike’s provisional headquarters in Yashima, the northern part of big-island Shikoku, some 200km away from Kyoto.
Yoshitsune pounded Yashima on January 19, 1185, and drove the Heike forces off to the island-studded Seto Inland Sea. After taking shelter on some islands, the Heike clans and their naval forces finally arrived at Hikoshima, the westernmost point of the mainland. By that time, Noriyori reached Kyushu to attack the Heike from behind. Now, the battlefield moved onto the sea. The Heike mobilized 500 fighting boats, whereas the Genji lined up 840 boats of allied forces (according to Azuma-kagami—a record of the Kamakura shogunate). On April 25, 1185 (March 24 by the old calendar), the final battle broke off at the strait Danno-ura, some 10km away from Hikoshima.
The battle started with the Heike’s fierce bow salvo putting the Genji forces on the defensive. Unfortunately, this didn’t continue long due to a lack of logistic support. The return fire of the Genji forces from boats and land pushed back the Heike little by little, which was then followed by close combat between the boats. With the lapse of time, the Heike lost their forces, and some of them started surrendering to the Genji. Finally, the battle ended in several hours when a royal woman of the Taira-no-Kiyomori family jumped into the sea together with young emperor Antoku. Many other central figures also chose an honorable death in the sea.
–Pride goes before a fall–
On returning to Kyoto, Yoshitsune was honored by the grand emperor with a high position at the emperor’s office. This invited the rage of his elder brother Yoritomo, however, since he had in advance ordered all the Genji families not to accept rewards from the imperial court without his consent. What’s more, Yoritomo was already aware of Yoshitsune’s arbitrary behaviors on the battlefield from the reports of other leaders.
Thus, when Yoshitsune took captured Heike family members to the Genji capital Kamakura, he was not allowed to enter the capital. He sent a letter of apology to Yoritomo, but in vain. He was ostracized despite his overwhelming victories over Kiso Yoshinaka and the Heike clans. The relations between those brothers got worse day by day, and desperate Yoshitsune eventually decided to stand against Yoritomo. He somehow gained the official support of Machiavellian Goshirakawa, who probably overestimated the power of Yoshitsune trying to mobilize dissatisfied Genji clans. However, to his regret, few clans came into alignment. Now, facing the furious anger of Yoritomo, Goshirakawa winced and, of all things, issued an order to expel Yoshitsune. Yoritomo immediately started hunting down Yoshitsune. What will be his fate?
The Downfall of the Oshu Fujiwara Clan
–Yoritomo’s relentless chase of Yoshitsune–
Yoshitsune, having no asylum in central Japan, fled to Hiraizumi, the capital of Oshu—the Fujiwara realm in northern Japan. The Fujiwara family was controlling almost one-third of the mainland through the power of gold production. The shining metal helped them to build the northern kingdom and to keep stable relations with the imperial court for almost 100 years. During the Genji-Heike battle, this clan carefully stayed away from the duel.
<Hiraizumi was the second largest grand city after Kyoto with large temple complexes, including the Konjikido (gold pavilion) of Chusonji temple.>
When Taira-no-Kiyomori crushed the Genji families during the Heiji War, young Yoshitsune (childhood name Ushiwaka-maru) was spared by Taira-no-Kiyomori together with his elder half-brother Yoritomo, and found asylum in Hiraizumi. Now, the family head Fujiwara Hidehira accepted Yoshitsune again, which was a heaven-sent excuse for Yoritomo to mount greater pressure on the Fujiwara clan. Hidehira didn’t flinch, however, or rather braced himself for the soon-to-come confrontation with Yoritomo.
Most unfortunately, however, the family head Hidehira was ill in bed. In extremis, he told his son Yasuhira and war-proficient fighter Yoshitsune to get stronger and unite to repulse Yoritomo’s forces. Thus, they signed an oath. When Hidehira passed away, Yasuhira at first rejected Yoritomo’s demand for extradition of Yoshitsune.
Yoritomo then demanded the grand emperor issue a warrant for Yoshitsune’s arrest, and stepped up his pressure on Hiraizumi. The raging demand seemed to have jolted the Fujiwara family, and eventually Yasuhira couldn’t stand the confusion and decided to extradite Yoshitsune to Yoritomo. When Yoshitsune’s residence was surrounded by Yasuhira’s soldiers, Yoshitsune decided to finish his turbulent life by his own hand. The gear tooth of history made a clicking noise again.
As Yasuhira’s father predicted, Yoritomo didn’t stop there despite the grand emperor’s suggestion to lay down his arms with the death of Yoshitsune. For Yoritomo, the Fujiwara clan was a sleeping lion behind the door, and thus must be eliminated before governing the whole nation as the Shogun. He blamed Yasuhira for cornering Yoshitsune to self-termination—a pretext to invade that 100-year realm. Yoritomo mobilized soldiers from around the nation, eventually reaching some 270,000, and in July 1189 they started marching to the Fujuwara’s territory via three routes. In a month, they captured the strongholds of Fujiwara forces one by one. On August 22, 1189, they finally put Hiraizumi under their control, and Yasuhira ran away upcountry. Of all things, however, his follower betrayed and killed him on the way. The time-honored Fujiwara kingdom collapsed on September 3, 1189.
Kamakura Era (1180s – 1333)
–Stormy days of unprecedented Mongol invasions and infighting of two imperial family lines–
In 1192, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo became the supreme commander of the nation’s armed forces and won a high status in the court — one equivalent to the top minister. His commanding headquarters in Kamakura, some 400km away from the emperor’s Kyoto, became the center of power. This dual appointment structure continued some 700 years from then, while the supreme leaders controlling the country repeatedly changed. The name of Yoritomo was thereafter deified by all samurai warriors as the founder of samurai governance.
In 1199, the power balance of time clicked again. Suddenly Yoritomo died — tumbling from a horse according to one story — and Yoritomo’s son, 18-year-old Yoriie, immediately succeeded his father’s position with the support of thirteen samurai leaders, forming a governing board headed by Hojo Tokimasa, father of Yoritomo’s wife, Masako. Soon, however, a power struggle between those chief retainers broke out, and Tokimasa expelled the members opposing him one by one.
In 1203, Yoriie, who was suffering from an unexplained illness, was confined to a house in Shuzenji by Tokimasa. Yoriie died (or was killed) in the next year. Tokimasa installed Yoriie’s young brother Sanetomo as the successor. The power struggle between two factions carrying each brother came to an end, and the Hojo family’s heyday serving as regent for the shogun began.
It was not the end of unrest for them, however. In 1219, Shogun Minamoto-no-Sanetomo was assassinated, and the direct line of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo came to an end. The Kamakura government headed by the Hojo family adopted Fujiwara-no-Yoritsune, a child distantly related to Yoritomo’s family, as the successor of the shogun. Now, just like Taira-no-Kiyomori controlled the imperial family, the Hojo family became the mastermind behind the shogun.
What’s more, the direct bloodline of the Minamoto family, descendants of the 56th emperor Seiwa, came to an end. None of the rulers in Kamakura were succeeding the blue blood of the imperial family anymore.
Grand Emperor Gotoba saw this confusion as the heaven-sent opportunity to topple the power of Kamakura or the regent Hojo Yoshitoki (head of the leading family of Hojo called Tokushu or Tokuso).
Jokyu War: The Fatefully Broken Power Balance
In 1221 (May 14), Grand Emperor Gotoba issued an imperial command to eliminate Hojo Yoshitoki and his family to disempower the Kamakura governance. This command brought down a wave of confusion even to some ruling samurai in Kamakura. In a stormy dark night, seamen need a lighthouse to show their course. Who showed the course in this sudden storm? None other than Hojo Masako — the widow of the first Kamakura shogun, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Reminding them of their great success brought by the leadership of Yoritomo, she spurred all leaders to push back against Gotoba’s command and forces.
Kamakura moved with lightning speed. As early as May 22, the first batch of troops started to attack the emperor’s stronghold, Kyoto. Following this, Kamakura mobilized some 190,000 warriors in three days. The grand emperor and his followers, overvaluing the force and effect of imperial command, went into a panic. When the grand emperor dispatched his order to loyal warriors in the western territories (the east was under the control of Kamakura), Kamakura forces had already broken through several defense lines of the royal forces, and stormed into Kyoto. The grand emperor was placed under Kamakura’s on June 15.
Now, the power balance between the emperor and the shogun collapsed, and to crown it all, Grand Emperor Gotoba was exiled to the Oki Islands in the next month. Several other members of royalty were also banished to distant lands. The Kamakura government swiftly established watchdog bodies called Rokuhara (later named Rokuhara-Tandai) in the north and south of Kyoto to monitor the movements of the emperor and other imperial family members. Since then, the Kamakura government (or Hojo family) supervised even imperial succession. This lopsided power balance continued some 650 years until 1867 when the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed and Japan transformed into a modern society.
Mongol Invasion of Japan (Genko in Japanese)
After the Jokyu War in 1221, the Kamakura government (or Hojo family) had steadily solidified the overall control of the nation. By then, however, an ominous cloud was swelling over the horizon.
The horrible emperor of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan, was turning his gaze on an island country some 200 km off the Korean Peninsula—Japan.
As often happens, it started with a demand for tribute:
1266: First trial: Kublai Khan decided to dispatch his mission to Japan and ordered the king of his tributary, the Goryeo dynasty (present-day Korea), to attend him. Reluctant to follow the order, Goryeo men showed the rage ocean to the mission. It worked and the mission returned empty-handed. The enraged Khan ordered the Goryeo king to dispatch his men to Japan instead.
1268: Second trial: The Goryeo’s messenger arrived at Dazaifu, regional capital of Kyushu (a big island in western Japan). The message was forwarded to the emperor in Kyoto, who was governing foreign affairs. Whether from panic or tactical thinking, the imperial court kept the envoy waiting seven months in Dazaifu and eventually they officially returned no reply. By then, the irritated Kublai Khan had ordered Goryeo to build 1,000 warships.
1269(Feb.): Third trial: Kublai Khan sent a delegation of over 70 members to Japan. When they landed on Japan’s Tsushima Island, located between Japan and Korea, the local lord refused to allow them to go ahead. A scuffle broke out, and the delegation got away with two islanders captured as hostages.
1269(Sept.): Fourth trial: Kublai Khan sent another mission to Dazaifu under the pretext of sending the hostages back. Just as before, however, the imperial court, as suggested by the shogunate in Kamakura, ignored the demand for deference.
(1271: Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty of China, whose capital was built in the current location of Beijing.)
(Sept.): Fifth trial: The Kublai Khan-led Yuan dynasty deployed troops in a Korean city facing a seaway with access to Japan and dispatched a delegation of nearly 100 strong to Dazaifu, demanding Japan’s submission to the Yuan dynasty. An ultimatum! They demanded an immediate reply—by November. Strained with the risk, Dazaifu decided to send a mission of its own to gather information on the possible invasion.
In January 1272, the Dazaifu delegation arrived in Yuan to tentatively pay homage to Kublai Khan. After learning what was going on there, they returned to Dazaifu in April.
(While the demands of Kublai Khan were stalled, the Kamakura shogunate was building up its strength around Dazaifu to repel the expected invasion. Samurai warriors in Kyushu and mainland Japan were in wait.)
1272: Final trial: Dazaifu was strained again when the ships of Yuan’s envoy loomed to demand the reply of Japan. The imperial court promptly reacted this time, though its reply didn’t reach the hand of the envoy, partly due to the covert operation of anti-Mongol agents of southern China—a force resisting Kublai Khan.
Countdown to the Mongol invasion
1273: Kublai Khan almost demolished his archenemy, the Southern Song dynasty in China, after a five-year battle, which enabled him to stage a full-scale attack on Japan.
1274: (Jan.) Kublai Khan directed the king of the Goryeo dynasty to build 300 battleships.
(June) The battleships were completed, and a fleet of over 700 ships (900 according to another record) was ready to set sail. The soldiers and matelots numbered over 27,000 including those of the Goryeo dynasty who were called up (Some documents say 40,000).
Bun-ei no Eki (Bun-ei War)
1274: (Oct.5) The joint Yuan and Goryeo forces first stormed Tsushima Island, killing its lord and all samurai forces. Then, they captured hundreds of islanders including children. Later, they bound many women on the walls of battleships as human shields.
(Oct.14) They next attacked Iki Island, some 30km away from Kyushu, and again massacred its garrisons and islanders in the thousands. Then, they deluged some other islands situated off the west coast of Kyushu. (These cruel attacks were immediately reported to Dazaifu, the emperor in Kyoto and the Kamakura shogunate. Strained by the report, all lords in Kyushu dispatched their samurai warriors to the coastline and Dazaifu. The Kamakura shogunate also ordered the lords of western districts to rush their warriors to Kyushu.)
(Oct. 20) All-out battle broke out
The Yuan and Goryeo forces stormed Hakata Bay (a route to Dazaifu) and broke into a few kilometers to take up position. Dazaifu deployed their main forces on the other side of the shore. Suddenly, out of the blue, a battle cry of samurai forces roared from an unexpected side. The invading forces were stunned as the raging troops of the Higo-han (domain) unexpectedly blitzed them from the flank in the Akasaka area and the invaders were soon pushed back to the landing spot by the joint attack of the Higo-han and the main forces.
Plunged into confusion once, the Yuan and Goryeo forces soon reorganized their troops and swung back to ram their way to Dazaifu, capturing numerous local people on the way. Dazaifu’s forces withdrew from the first battle zone and rebuilt a new defense line some 10 km inland to protect Dazaifu.
Dawn broke
(According to a Goryeo war record, the invading forces found the casualties of their soldiers were more than expected. They could not be replaced quickly while Japan could mobilize troops and arms one after another.)
The tables were suddenly turned. The invading forces found it difficult to reach Dazaifu and decided to retreat before Japan’s troops started their counteroffensive. The invading forces rushed into the dark sea in haste before dawn, and ships collided with each other or crashed on the rocky land in disorder. The stormy waters of late October crushed wooden ships into the deep sea. They lost more than 13,000 combatants (soldiers and matelots) — more than one third of the combat personnel — before returning to a bay in Korea on November 27th. The Goryeo dynasty lost a tremendous number of resources for this war, including manpower, provisions and lumber.
(Wild Kublai) (1276: Kublai Khan conquered his last rival in continental China—the Southern Song dynasty, and started preparing to attack Japan again.)
1279 (June): Eighth mission: Kublai Khan sent the final envoy demanding Japan’s submission. He chose the delegation’s members from the conquered Southern Song dynasty this time. However, the Kamakura government didn’t budge, and except for a few technicians and intellects, the delegation was put to death just as before.
Koan-no-Eki (Koan War) — Crisis again
1281: The dark cloud was swelling over Japan again.
The Kublai Khan-led Yuan dynasty of China mounted a second attack against Japan with an unprecedented 140,000-or-more strong forces (including crew members). They were mobilized from Mongolia, the Goryeo dynasty (Korea), and the Southern Song dynasty of China. Some 4,400 ships were prepared to send them to Kyushu via two routes: the eastern route and southern route.
(May 3rd): The eastern route army (ERA) first weighed anchor to assault Tsushima and Iki islands located on the route to Kyushu. Then they flooded into Hakata Bay to storm Dazaifu. They made light of Japan’s preparedness for the next attack. Unexpectedly, they crashed into a long, 2-3m high masonry barrier built along the coastline, which stretched over 20km. (The Kamakura shogunate built it in haste after the previous war.) What’s more, some daredevil samurai fighters, with their backs to the barrier, spearheaded counterattacks against the landing enemy.
(June 6th): Facing a fierce counterattack of samurai forces, the invading army retreated to build a tentative stronghold by occupying Shiga Island which is connected to the mainland by a path.
(June 8th): Samurai warriors started an all-out attack against the enemy from the sea and the land path to Shiga Island. The attack continued till the next day, and finally pushed the enemy back to the sea. The invaders retreated to Iki Island, some 30 km away from Hakata Bay, where they were originally scheduled to join up with the southern route army (SRA) on June 15th. They didn’t find the SRA, though. An advance troop of the SRA arrived later to tell the ERA that the SRA changed its first target from Iki Island to Taka Island and Hirado Island, some 50 km west of Hakata Bay.
(June 29th): Tens of thousands of samurai forces stormed Iki Island to drive out the ERA. They immediately attacked the ERA soldiers of the hastily rigged-up bastion and ships. Furious battle continued for days and nights covering the island with blood. Three days later, a new reinforcement unit of samurai landed on the island, and the cornered ERA finally retreated from the island. However, they didn’t return to their homeport. The ERA turned west instead to join the southern route army (SRA) on Hirado Island.
Around the same time, the main fleet of the SRA assaulted both Hirado Island and Taka Island to make them footholds for invasion. In response, Dazaifu mobilized samurai warriors again from every corner of Kyushu, while the Kamakura shogunate was also sending some 60,000 soldiers from the mainland.
(July 27th): Dazaifu’s warships started attacking the SRA ships anchored in the bay of Taka Island. (Prior to this battle, they wiped out ERA soldiers entrenched in Shiga Island of Hakata Bay.) Their repeated zapping continued for almost a full day until the dawn of next day, which made the ERA/SRA leaders reconsider their original plan to occupy Dazaifu. Instead, they reinforced their makeshift bastion on Taka Island, and matelots lined up their ships in a rank to protect themselves from the next samurai attack.
(July 30th): A typhoon destroyed many SRA ships anchored in the bay of Taka Island and drowned numerous soldiers and matelots. The ships, which were, densely moored to deter the next attack of Japan’s battleships clashed into each other on the huge waves and sank into the sea. (On the other hand, the ships in Hirado Island’s bay were not so seriously damaged, as they were properly moored with a certain distance between each ship.)
The fierce counterattacks of samurai forces and massive loss of battleships forced the ERA/SRA leaders to reconsider their invasion plan. Some sectors of the army had already crumbled due to repeated fighting and epidemics among soldiers.
“Don’t stop. Charge forward to occupy Dazaifu!”
“We sure lost many soldiers, but we still have 100,000 battle-hardened men.”
“There is no choice of retreat!”
“Though the provisions are very limited, we can seize more in the occupied places.”
Some leaders insisted at the strategy meeting.
However, Dazaifu’s fierce counterattack pushed them back at every sector, depressing the morale of soldiers. Furthermore, the typhoon’s huge waves crushed most of the ships in the bay of Taka Island where the main forces of the Yuan army were taking up their position.
With no hope of immediate logistic support from the Yuan dynasty or the Goryeo dynasty, the invaders finally came to a conclusion: “Retreat.”
“Get off the ships!” The higher brasses pulled low-ranking soldiers from the undamaged ships to board themselves instead and took off to the Korean Peninsula in a flurry. “That was that” for those who narrowly fled, but some 100,000 soldiers left behind on Taka Island faced a dire future. (By contrast, some 4,000 soldiers stationed on the neighboring Hirado Island were lucky. They returned safely under the guidance of a thoughtful leader who tossed all provisions, even horses, from the ships to take those soldiers aboard.)
The soldiers abandoned by their selfish brasses planned to build ships with the lumber of the island. Time didn’t allow it, however. Dazaifu’s all-out attack began. With no logistical support, the Yuan forces were eventually wiped out, leaving some captives of the Southern Song dynasty (used in interplay with Japan before) in the hands of local lords.
The Koan war thus ended.
Third trial of invasion Unable to accept this failure, Kublai Khan ordered the mobilization of more invasion forces two years later, despite the extreme exhaustion of involved countries which led to numerous domestic riots and an anti-Yuan movement spearheaded by a neighboring country. To cope with those problems, Yuan couldn’t afford to recruit soldiers and sailors for the third trial.
1294 (Jan.) Kublai Khan died, and the third invasion plan finally fizzled out.