公開日: 2013/01/27
This is an excerpt taken from a BBC Documentary on Kublai Khan.
Mongol invasions of Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasions_of_Japan
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/M%C5%8Dko_Sh%C5%ABrai_Ekotoba.jpg/800px-M%C5%8Dko_Sh%C5%ABrai_Ekotoba.jpg
The Mongol invasions of Japan (元寇 Genkō)
of 1274 and 1281 were major military
efforts undertaken by Kublai
Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of
Goryeo (Korea) to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the
invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance because they set a
limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in Japanese history. The
Japanese successfully repelled the invasions, in part because the Mongols lost
up to 75% of their troops and supplies both times on the ocean as a result of
major storms.
The Mongol invasions are
an early example of gunpowder warfare. One of the most notable
technological innovations during the war was the use of explosive bombs.[1] The
invasions are referred to in many works of fiction, and are the earliest events
for which the word kamikaze, or
"divine wind", is widely used. Prior to the American occupation of Japan at the end of
World War II, these failed
invasion attempts were the closest Japan had come to being conquered by a
foreign power in the last 1,500 years.
After a series of Mongol
invasions from 1231 to 1259, the Goryeo
Dynasty of Korea signed a treaty in favor of the Mongols and became a Mongolian vassal. Kublai was declared Great Khan of the Mongol Empire in 1260
(though not widely recognized by the Mongols in the west) and established his
capital at Dadu (Beijing) in 1264.
Background
Japan at the time was
ruled by the Shikken (Shogunate
Regents) of the Hōjō
clan, who had intermarried with and wrested control from the Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate after
his death in 1203. The inner circle of the Hōjō had become so preeminent that
they no longer consulted even the Hyōjō (評定) (the council of the shogunate of
the Shogun), nor the Imperial Court of
Kyoto, nor their vassals (gokenin), and made their decisions at private meetings
in their residences (寄合 yoriai).
The Mongols had also
made attempts to subjugate the native peoples of Sakhalin since 1260, which only
ended in 1308.[2]
Contact
Cherished from Mandate of Heaven, the Great Mongol emperor sends this letter to the King of Japan. The sovereigns of small countries, sharing borders with each other, have for a long time been concerned to communicate with each other and become friendly. Especially since my ancestor governed at heaven's command, innumerable countries from afar disputed our power and slighted our virtue. Goryeo rendered thanks for my ceasefire and for restoring their land and people when I ascended the throne. Our relation is feudatory like a father and son. We think you already know this. Goryeo is my eastern tributary. Japan was allied with Goryeo and sometimes with China since the founding of your country; however, Japan has never dispatched ambassadors since my ascending the throne. It is horrifying to think that the Kingdom is yet to know this. Hence we dispatched a mission with our letter particularly expressing our wishes. Enter into friendly relations with each other from now on. We think all countries belong to one family. How are we in the right, unless we comprehend this? Nobody would wish to resort to arms.[3]
Kublai essentially
demanded that Japan become a vassal and
send tribute under a threat of conflict. However, the emissaries returned
empty-handed.
A second set of
emissaries were sent in 1268, returning empty-handed like the first. Both sets
of emissaries met with the Chinzei Bugyō, or Defense Commissioner for
the West, who passed on the message to Shikken Hōjō Tokimune, Japan's ruler in Kamakura, but
also to the Emperor in Kyoto.
After discussing the
letters with his inner circle, there was much debate as to what to do, but
Tokimune had his mind made up; he had the emissaries sent back with no answer.
They re-sent emissaries time and time again, some through Korean emissaries, and some by Mongol ambassadors on March 7, 1269; September 17,
1269; September 1271; and May 1272, each time not even being permitted to land
in Kyushu. The Imperial Court suggested surrender out of overwhelming fear, but
really had no say in the matter since its marginalization after losing the Jōkyū War.
The Kamakura shogunate
(Bakufu) under Tokimune ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyūshū (the
area closest to Korea, and thus most likely to be attacked) to return to their
lands, and forces in Kyūshū moved west, further securing the most likely landing
points. After acknowledging its impotence, the Imperial Court led great prayer
services, and much government business was put off to deal with this crisis.
First invasion
preparations
The Khan was willing to go to war as early as 1268 after having been rebuffed
twice, but found that his empire did not have the resources to provide him with
a sufficient navy at that time. With Mongol entry into the Korean court by
marriage of the Korean crown prince to Kublai Khan's daughter, a mass
construction of ships began on Korea's south-eastern shores, while the Mongols
continued to demand surrender.
Kublai Khan founded the
Yuan Dynasty in 1271. In
1272, King
Chungnyeol offered counsel to Kublai Khan. According to Goryeosa, Japan is yet to know the world is
hallowed. So dispatch emissaries and convey our military power to Japan. Battle
ships and military rations are well prepared. If you appoint me, I encourage you
to the extent of my power.[4]
According to the History
of Yuan, King of Goryeo ask Kublai Khan for conquering Japan. I am
building 150 ships and encourage your conquest of Japan. [5]
First invasion
(1274)
In 1274, the Yuan fleet set out, with an estimated 15,000 Mongol and Chinese
soldiers and 8,000 Korean soldiers, in 300 large vessels and 400-500 smaller
craft, although figures vary considerably depending on the source. They ravaged
the islands of Tsushima and Iki, including piercing the hands of women and
hanging them on their boats. The Mongolians, Chinese and Koreans landed on Komodahama
Beach on Tsushima on October 5th. So Sukekuni, the governor of Tsushima led a cavalry unit of 80 to fight the
enemies, but he was killed in the combat. The Mongolians, Chinese and Koreans
occupied the island and killed many civilians. [6] The Mongolians and
Koreans subsequently invaded Iki Island.
Tairano Takakage, the Governer of Iki fought the enemies with about 100 of his
cavalrymen, but he killed himself after his unit was defeated. Also in Iki, the
Mongolians, Chinese and Koreans slaughtered many civilians. [7] They landed on
November 19 in Hakata Bay, a
short distance from Dazaifu, the ancient administrative capital of
Kyūshū. The
following day brought the Battle of Bun'ei (文永の役), also known as the
"First Battle of Hakata Bay".
The Japanese were
inexperienced in managing such a large force (all of North Kyūshū had been
mobilized), and the Mongols made significant initial progress. It had been
approximately 50 years since the last major combat event in Japan (Go-Toba's adherents in
1221), leaving not a single Japanese general with adequate experience in moving
large bodies of troops. In addition, the style of warfare that was customary
within feudal Japan involved man-to-man duels, even on large battlefields.
Around nightfall, a severe storm caused the Mongol ship
captains to suggest that the land force re-embark on the sailing vessels in
order to avoid the risk of being marooned on Japanese soil. By daybreak, only a
few ships had not set out to sea. Those that had were destroyed by the storm.
Some accounts offer casualty reports that suggest 200 Mongol ships were lost.
However, Japanese small boats were much swifter and more maneuverable than
Mongol ships, and the Japanese were able to board the remaining ships of the
crippled Mongol army. The Samurai approached and boarded the ship under cover of
darkness and fell on the invaders ferociously. In the small confines of the
ships, during the predawn darkness, the Mongols (natural cavalrymen and horse
archers) were unable to bring their bows to bear effectively. However, the long,
thin Japanese swords got stuck or snapped off in the thick, boiled leather armor
of the Mongols, causing blacksmiths to reevaluate their swords, which led to the
invention and spread of famous Katana in
the 13th and 14th century. The Katana was made shorter and thicker, but its main
improvement was the composite construction that mixed hard and soft steel and
blended them using heating, folding, quenching (with clay painted on the blade
in different proportions to created a hard and sharp blade, a tough but flexible
back and a gentle curve) and tempering, followed by polishing.
Meanwhile, back in
Kamakura, Tokimune was overcome with fear when the invasion finally came, and
wanting to overcome his cowardice, he asked Bukko (his Zen master) for advice. Bukko
replied he had to sit in meditation to find the source of his cowardice in
himself. Tokimune went to Bukko and said, "Finally there is the greatest
happening of my life." Bukko asked, "How do you plan to face it?" Tokimune
screamed, "Katsu!" ("Victory!") as if he wanted to scare all the enemies
in front of him. Bukko responded with satisfaction, "It is true that the son of
a lion roars as a lion!" Since that time,
Tokimune was instrumental in spreading Zen Buddhism and Bushido in Japan among the samurai.
After the invasion,
allied fleets returned to their homeland. The Goryeo general Kim
Bang-gyeong (김방경) paid tribute
to the king and Mongol queen of Goryeo with 200 boys and girls for slaves.[8]
Developments leading to the second invasion
Starting in 1275, the
Kamakura
shogunate (Bakufu) made increased efforts to defend against the second
invasion, which they thought was sure to come. In addition to better organizing
the samurai of Kyūshū, they ordered the construction of forts and a large stone
wall (石塁, Sekirui), and other defensive structures at many potential landing
points, including Hakata Bay, where a two meter high wall was constructed in
1276.
Religious services
increased and the Hakōzaki
shrine, having been destroyed by the Yuan forces, was rebuilt. A coastal
watch was instituted and rewards were given to some 120 valiant samurai. There
was even a plan for a raid on Korea to be
carried out by Shōni Tsunesuke, a general from Kyūshū, though this was never
executed.
After the failed
invasion, Kublai Khan was tired of being ignored and not being allowed to land,
so five Yuan emissaries were dispatched in September 1275 and sent to Kyūshū,
refusing to leave without a reply. Tokimune responded by having them sent to Kamakura and then
beheading them.[9] The graves of those
five executed Yuan emissaries exist to this day in Kamakura at Tatsunokuchi.[2] Then again on July 29, 1279, five more Yuan emissaries were
sent in the same manner, and again beheaded, this time in Hakata. Expecting
another invasion, on Feb 21, 1280, the Imperial Court ordered all temples and
shrines to pray for victory over the Yuan.
Second invasion
(1281)
Japanese samurai boarding Yuan ships
in 1281.
In the spring of
1281, the Mongols sent two separate forces. An impressive force of 900 ships
containing 40,000 Korean, Chinese, and Mongol troops set out from Masan, while
an even larger force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships. The
Mongols' plan called for an overwhelming coordinated attack by the combined
imperial Yuan fleets. The Chinese fleet of the Yuan was delayed by difficulties
in provisioning and manning the large number of ships they had.[10]
Their Korean fleet
set sail, suffered heavy losses at Tsushima, and turned back. In the summer, the
combined Korean/Chinese fleet took Iki-shima and moved on to Kyūshū, landing at
several different locations. In a number of individual skirmishes, known
collectively as the Battle of Kōan (弘安の役) or the "Second Battle
of Hakata Bay", the Mongol forces were driven back to their ships. The Japanese
army was heavily outnumbered, but had fortified the coastal line, and was easily
able to repulse the auxiliaries that were launched against it. Beginning August
15, the now-famous kamikaze, a
massive typhoon, assaulted the shores of Kyūshū for two days straight, and
destroyed much of the Mongol fleet.[10]
Furthermore, it is
now believed that the destruction of the Mongol fleet was greatly facilitated by
an additional factor. Most of the invasion force was composed of
hastily-acquired flat-bottomed Chinese riverboats and ships built in Goryeo and
all of a similar type. According to Goryeosa, Southern Song type ships were
too costly and their construction was too slow, so the traditional types were
constructed instead.[11] Such ships (unlike
ocean-going ships, which have a curved keel to prevent capsizing) were difficult
to use on high seas, let alone during a massive typhoon.
Military significance
From a military
perspective, the failed invasions of Kublai Khan were the first of only two instances
(the other being the Japanese
invasion of Korea in 1592) when the samurai fought foreign troops rather
than amongst themselves. It is also the first time samurai clans fought for the
sake of Japan itself instead of for more narrowly defined clan interests. The
invasions also exposed the Japanese to an alien fighting style which, lacking
the single combat that
characterized traditional samurai combat, they saw as inferior. This difference
is noted in the Hachiman Gudōkun:
| “ | According to our manner of fighting we must first call out by name someone from the enemy ranks, and then attack in single combat. But the Mongols took no notice at all of such conventions. They rushed forward all together in a mass, grappling with any individuals they could catch and killing them.[12] | ” |
The failed invasions
also mark the first use of the word kamikaze ("Divine Wind"). They also
perpetuated the Japanese belief that they could not be defeated, which remained
an important aspect of Japanese foreign policy until the end of the Second World War. The failed
invasions also demonstrated a weakness of the Mongols - the inability to mount
naval invasions successfully.[citation
needed] (See also Mongol invasions of Vietnam). After
the death of Kublai, his successor, Temür Öljeytü, unsuccessfully
demanded the submission of Japan in 1295.
The Mongols and the
Ashikaga shogunate of Japan made peace in the late 14th century during the reign
of Toghun Temür, the last Yuan emperor in Dadu. Long before the peace
agreement, there was stable trade in East Asia under the dominance of the Mongols and
Japan.
As a consequence of
the destruction of the Mongol fleets, Japan's independence was guaranteed.
Simultaneously, a power struggle within Japan led to the dominance of military
governments and diminishing Imperial power.[13]
Technological
significance
The Mongol invasions are an early example of gunpowder warfare. One of
the most notable technological innovations during the war was the use of
explosive bombs.[1] The
bombs are known in Chinese as "thunder crash bombs" and were fired from
catapults, inflicting damage on enemy soldiers. An illustration of a bomb is
depicted in a Japanese scroll, showing their use by the Mongols against mounted
samurai. Archaeological evidence of the use of gunpowder was finally confirmed
when multiple shells of the explosive bombs were discovered in an underwater
shipwreck off the shore of Japan by the Kyushu Okinawa Society for Underwater
Archaeology. X-rays by Japanese scientists of the excavated shells provided
proof that they contained gunpowder.[14]
This page was last modified on 21 November
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