The history of the invasion of Mongol troops to Japan. Has Japan experienced a culture shock?
wikilatief--In my opinion, it cannot be concluded that there was a cultural shock that was experienced by Japan, because they were not forced to adapt to foreign cultures, instead they tried to expel foreign nations.
The Japanese felt at first insecure, then they were mostly overcome by fear and anxiety but were forced to dare to fight.
Meanwhile the Mongols were overconfident, greedy and arrogant.
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| Small Japanese samurai ships attacked the Mongol fleets |
The 13th century saw a golden period for the Mongols. This previously underestimated nation transformed rapidly into an expansionary empire capable of conquering the surrounding territories.
Not only were the Middle East and Central Asia targeted, but other parts of Asia did not escape the Mongol invasion.
After successfully conquering China and Korea, Japan became the target of invasion by the Mongols.
Worried, Japan monitored events taking place in mainland Asia regarding the Mongol conquest of China under Genghis Khan.
When the Japanese learned that Korea had also been conquered, they realized that the attack on their country was not long before.
Two invasion attempts were made, but due to misfortune and the will of nature, Kublai Khan failed to conquer Japan.
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| The invasion of the Mongol troops |
Background of the Mongol Invasion of Japan
After Genghis Khan's reign ended, the Mongols continued to expand their influence. In 1230 AD, the Mongols succeeded in conquering northern China.
A year later they had crossed the Yalu River to expand its territory into the Korean Peninsula.
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The Korean king (Koryo) was forced to be loyal to the Mongols, in return for being able to rule as vassal.
In 1259 Khubilai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, ascended the Mongol throne and became Emperor of the Chinese Yuan. Khubilai Khan reigned until 1294.
Following the traditions of the Chinese emperor, he tried to force neighboring countries into submission.
In line with this tradition it does, rationalized by the irrational argument of "heavenly mission",
In 1268, Khubilai Khan (Genghis's grandson) sent an ambassador to Japan, calling its leader "King of Japan", and he saw as "a leader of a small state".
This ambassador initially advised Japan to establish friendly relations but if not, they would attack Japan.
A little threatening. The Hojo Shogunate government in Kamakura recognized this as a cover, but did not respond to the Mongols.
The Mongol ambassador returned to China without receiving an answer and so did the next ambassador.
Just keep it quiet. The Japanese shogunate felt that the first attack would inevitably take place on the island of Kyushu, an easy way to invade Honshu.
He ordered that coastal defenses be increased and warned the samurai in Kyushu to be alert. The Mongol army certainly departed from the Korean Peninsula.
The Mongols who were good horsemen, but did not know anything about sailing. They forced the Koreans to build as many as 450 ships to fight.
Greedy! In November 1274, a Mongol fleet carrying 15,000 men across the Korean Strait, conquering Tsushima and Iki Islands before heading for Hakozaki Bay, northwest Kyushu.
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| Samurai against the Mongols |
The local Kyushu samurai immediately intervened in war with the Mongol troops. They had never faced foreign enemies so they didn't use any military formations, relying only on their katana.
High-ranking samurai usually fought enemies of equal rank in single combat. The Mongol army was superior in terms of formation and weapons.
Mongoled bows and catapults that could throw explosives and projectiles had to drive the Japanese back. The war is not over.
But that night, when the Mongols returned to their ships, there was a huge typhoon which "helped" sink their ship. The rest of the survivors returned to Korea.
After that, Khubilai Khan sent another ambassador to convey a call for the "King of Japan" to come to Peking.
The Kyoto-based empire was terrified, but the Kamakura Shogunate bravely refused the request, even beheading the Mongol ambassador!
The Japanese knew for sure a bigger attack was coming so they did their best to deal with it with unprecedented preparation and unity. A defensive wall was built around Hakozaki Bay.
Soldiers are trained to attack with small enemy ships. Because of the fear of Japan, all Kyushu men were required to take up arms against the Mongols.
While war generals all over Japan were warned to be ready with their troops if war broke out.
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Various weapons were collected in preparation. The imperial palace in Kyoto stopped using luxury items to save money on defense.
Even the pirates who were terrorizing the Inland Sea enthusiastically joined forces with the government to fight at sea.
Within 5 years the Mongol rulers were busy putting down the remaining rebellions in South China, on the other hand Japan was busy preparing for war.
The Koreans were again made slaves to build ships up to 1000 units to carry about 50,000 Mongol troops. Simultaneously from South China an additional 100,000 troops were sent.
While this figure seems to be somewhat exaggerated, there is no question that this was the largest deployment of the armed forces over the sea in ancient times.
In the early summer of 1281, the Mongol troops left Korea for Japan. The first troops landed on 23 June on the northern coast of Kyushu Island, including in Hakozaki Bay. Troops from China arrived at the western part of the island.
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| Japanese soldiers took control of the Mongol ships |
On the coast, the Japanese courageously attacked with their small ships, occupying and burning several Mongol warships. Meanwhile on land, samurai were vying to come to the battlefield as soon as possible.
At temples all over the country, Shinto priests and Buddhist monks pray for victory in war. The emperor ordered all religious leaders to pray together day and night during the war.
The emperor and his father made a pilgrimage to their ancestral graves asking them to help a country from another realm. Those who did not participate in the fight could only pray.
The war lasted more than 50 days. It is not clear which side was superior, but given the difficulty of the Mongols to penetrate the interior of Kyushu and to survive only around the coast.
It seemed that the Japanese could constantly counter them. At the end of August there was a typhoon, as is usual for this period every year.
During two days the disaster devastated Kyushu and drowned many Mongol troops at sea. Those who were stranded on the beach were immediately killed by Japanese troops.
This typhoon is called kamikaze (divine wind) by the Japanese because its arrival, which happens to be considered a form of interference by the gods in protecting the country of Japan.
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| Typhoon sweeps through the Mongols in Kikuchi Yoosai's painting, made in 1847 |
The shogunate was considered successful in repelling the Mongol attacks but for 20 years they felt insecure as Khubilai still threatened to send another attack.
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But with Khubilai's death in 1294, then the Japanese could feel relieved.
