1
00:00:06,599 --> 00:00:12,199
The fierce resistance on the beaches of Hakata
Bay and the cataclysmic encounters with typhoons

2
00:00:12,199 --> 00:00:17,629
- later known as the kamikaze - stand tall
in the popular memory of the Mongol invasions

3
00:00:17,629 --> 00:00:21,640
of Japan both within and outside of the country.

4
00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:26,260
Having covered the course of the two invasion
attempts previously, we will now cover the

5
00:00:26,260 --> 00:00:32,210
first clash between Mongol horse archers and
Samurai warriors, and their spirited defence

6
00:00:32,210 --> 00:00:34,829
of the islands of Tsushima and Iki.

7
00:00:34,829 --> 00:00:39,329
By the way, we have a podcast covering the
history of the Mongols, the links are in the

8
00:00:39,329 --> 00:00:40,329
description.

9
00:00:40,329 --> 00:00:44,429
Shoutout to March of Empires for sponsoring
this video!

10
00:00:44,429 --> 00:00:49,149
March of Empires is a free to download medieval
MMO war strategy game where you can build

11
00:00:49,149 --> 00:00:50,149
your own empire!

12
00:00:50,149 --> 00:00:56,370
It is perfect for the fans of history, wargaming,
clan vs clan PVP and MMO strategies.

13
00:00:56,369 --> 00:01:00,869
Players can build thriving kingdom, fortify
their castle, fuel a massive army and build

14
00:01:00,869 --> 00:01:02,378
an entire empire.

15
00:01:02,378 --> 00:01:06,658
The game allows you to delve into the past
as a Highland King, Northern Tsar or Desert

16
00:01:06,659 --> 00:01:11,560
Sultan and wage constant war for real territorial
conquest!

17
00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:16,390
And now it has a huge summer update called
Wings of Liberty, which introduces the Pursuit

18
00:01:16,390 --> 00:01:21,799
of Liberty event, where all players will work
together to unlock powerful boosts for everyone

19
00:01:21,799 --> 00:01:25,270
and overcome the monstrous Boss in the final
stage!

20
00:01:25,269 --> 00:01:29,060
Feel the glory of the celebrations in the
returning “Freedom`s Stand” narrative

21
00:01:29,060 --> 00:01:33,399
event and win an exclusive chest full with
thematic equipment!

22
00:01:33,399 --> 00:01:36,820
New players are protected from high level
attacks.

23
00:01:36,819 --> 00:01:40,788
Support our channel and build your empire
by downloading now through the link in the

24
00:01:40,789 --> 00:01:42,000
description!

25
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:47,180
The island of Tsushima is situated between
the southern coast of Korea and the Japanese

26
00:01:47,180 --> 00:01:48,810
island of Kyushu.

27
00:01:48,810 --> 00:01:54,039
Only a short distance from Korea, Tsushima
was a prominent base for Japanese pirates

28
00:01:54,039 --> 00:01:57,320
to raid Korea, known as wakō.

29
00:01:57,319 --> 00:02:02,769
As Tsushima itself was mountainous with little
arable land, many turned to providing for

30
00:02:02,769 --> 00:02:08,449
themselves on the sea, either through fishing
or making the short trip to Korea.

31
00:02:08,449 --> 00:02:13,709
In the thirteenth century the raiders found
Korea a particularly vulnerable target, as

32
00:02:13,710 --> 00:02:19,280
the kingdom suffered continuously from a far
more fearsome enemy: Mongol horsemen of the

33
00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:20,729
Great Khan.

34
00:02:20,729 --> 00:02:27,219
Over a thirty-year period, Mongol forces repeatedly
invaded Korea, and the Korean King Gojong

35
00:02:27,219 --> 00:02:30,490
was forced to seek refuge on an island.

36
00:02:30,490 --> 00:02:35,850
During this destabilization, Japanese pirates
attacked Korea several times, though these

37
00:02:35,849 --> 00:02:41,729
attacks ended by the time King Gojong made
peace with the Mongols in 1259.

38
00:02:41,729 --> 00:02:47,899
It is these attacks which first brought the
Japanese, and Tsushima itself, to Mongol attention,

39
00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:52,300
alongside rumours of the great wealth of the
Japanese monarchs.

40
00:02:52,300 --> 00:02:58,450
When the new Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan began
sending envoys to Japan in the 1260s, demanding

41
00:02:58,449 --> 00:03:04,639
they accept his Heaven ordained rule, Tsushima’s
close proximity to Korea made it a natural

42
00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,279
stopover for the Khan’s messengers.

43
00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:13,400
However, the Japanese government, the Kamakura
Bakufu under Hojo Tokimune, repeatedly refused

44
00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,430
to even see Kublai’s envoys.

45
00:03:16,430 --> 00:03:22,450
One returning group of frustrated envoys in
1269 captured two fishermen from Tsushima,

46
00:03:22,449 --> 00:03:24,289
Tojiro and Yashiro.

47
00:03:24,289 --> 00:03:27,250
The two were brought all the way back to the
court of Kublai.

48
00:03:27,250 --> 00:03:33,439
There, the most powerful single individual
on the planet entertained two humble fishermen,

49
00:03:33,439 --> 00:03:39,419
showing off his grandeur and demanding that,
upon their return, they would tell Hojo Tokimune

50
00:03:39,419 --> 00:03:44,699
to show him proper respect, that the Khan
wished only to have the Japanese King at his

51
00:03:44,699 --> 00:03:49,099
court, and to bequeath his fame to posterity.

52
00:03:49,099 --> 00:03:55,129
On returning to Japan, the fishermen found
no more success than Kublai’s official envoys

53
00:03:55,129 --> 00:03:56,129
did.

54
00:03:56,129 --> 00:04:01,129
The continued diplomatic offenses were not
forgotten, and Kublai’s pretensions only

55
00:04:01,129 --> 00:04:06,469
increased with the declaration of the Yuan
Dynasty in 1271.

56
00:04:06,469 --> 00:04:11,979
With the fall of the key Song Dynasty stronghold
of Xiangyang, preparations soon followed for

57
00:04:11,979 --> 00:04:15,060
an invasion fleet against Japan.

58
00:04:15,060 --> 00:04:22,750
On the 2nd of November 1274 an armada of perhaps
20,000 Mongols, Northern Chinese, Jurchen,

59
00:04:22,750 --> 00:04:28,810
Khitans, and Korean soldiers and sailors aboard
nearly 1,000 ships set out from Happ’o on

60
00:04:28,810 --> 00:04:30,530
Korea’s southern coast.

61
00:04:30,529 --> 00:04:34,009
Tsushima was where the hammer blow would strike
first.

62
00:04:34,009 --> 00:04:38,909
By the evening of November 4th, the defenders
spotted the Mongol fleet off the Tsushima

63
00:04:38,910 --> 00:04:40,060
coast.

64
00:04:40,060 --> 00:04:45,430
Lacking naval powers beyond their small pirate
and fishing vessels, the Japanese had no way

65
00:04:45,430 --> 00:04:48,000
to harry the Mongols at sea.

66
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,649
Tsushima was at that time controlled by the
Sō clan, whose head, Sō Sukekuni, was the

67
00:04:53,649 --> 00:04:57,469
deputy shugo, military governor, of the island.

68
00:04:57,470 --> 00:05:02,691
According to the Hachiman Gudokun, a Japanese
source written soon after the invasion, on

69
00:05:02,690 --> 00:05:07,899
Tsushima there was a shrine to Hachiman, the
Japanese god of war.

70
00:05:07,899 --> 00:05:12,779
Tradition holds that on the day the Mongol
fleet neared Tsushima, a fire broke out at

71
00:05:12,779 --> 00:05:15,829
Hachiman’s shrine - a foreboding omen.

72
00:05:15,829 --> 00:05:21,339
The fire was extinguished, and white doves
were seen gathering on the roof of the shrine.

73
00:05:21,339 --> 00:05:26,399
As doves were the messengers of Hachiman,
Sukekuni interpreted it as a warning from

74
00:05:26,399 --> 00:05:31,469
Hachiman: for why else would the god set fire
to his own shrine?

75
00:05:31,470 --> 00:05:36,530
Some modern authors have interpreted this
as the doves having caused the fire, perhaps

76
00:05:36,529 --> 00:05:41,888
from incendiaries tied to them and hence,
the opening salvo in the Mongol attack upon

77
00:05:41,889 --> 00:05:42,889
the island.

78
00:05:42,889 --> 00:05:47,990
Either way, news reached Sukekuni that a massive
fleet was approaching.

79
00:05:47,990 --> 00:05:52,759
Sukekuni rallied his forces: some 80 mounted
Samurai and their retainers.

80
00:05:52,759 --> 00:05:58,180
He led them through the night over rough terrain
to set up on the beach of Komoda, and prepare

81
00:05:58,180 --> 00:06:00,240
for the dawn.

82
00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:05,418
As the Yuan fleet neared Komoda beach early
on the morning of November 5th, Sukekuni sent

83
00:06:05,418 --> 00:06:10,310
a small vessel out to inquire as to the purpose
of their arrival.

84
00:06:10,310 --> 00:06:15,339
With the bakufu having rebuffed the Great
Khan’s envoys repeatedly, the time was well

85
00:06:15,339 --> 00:06:17,259
past for talk.

86
00:06:17,259 --> 00:06:23,279
Sukekuni knew chances of victory against such
a massive force were non-existent, yet lined

87
00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:28,089
the defenders of Tsushima up for battle all
the same as the smaller enemy landing craft

88
00:06:28,089 --> 00:06:30,060
neared the shore.

89
00:06:30,060 --> 00:06:35,610
The primary weapon of the samurai was the
bow, their valuable and iconic yumi, with

90
00:06:35,610 --> 00:06:38,800
which each warrior was highly skilled.

91
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:43,860
Like the Mongols, the Samurai fought as mounted
archers, though their maneuvers on horseback

92
00:06:43,860 --> 00:06:48,730
could not compare to steppe nomads born into
the saddle.

93
00:06:48,730 --> 00:06:53,110
The wealthiest samurai were well protected
in their colourful and distinctive yoroi,

94
00:06:53,110 --> 00:06:59,490
though on a poorer island like Tsushima few
of the 80 samurai gathered by Sukekuni would

95
00:06:59,490 --> 00:07:00,990
be so well armoured.

96
00:07:00,990 --> 00:07:06,490
For sidearms, Sukekuni’s warriors had their
single curved blades, the predecessors of

97
00:07:06,490 --> 00:07:11,900
the famous katana, while the remainder of
his forces were armed with little beyond spears

98
00:07:11,899 --> 00:07:14,019
and naginata.

99
00:07:14,019 --> 00:07:20,870
In contrast, the forces sent against him were
varied, commanded by the Mongol general Ho-tan.

100
00:07:20,870 --> 00:07:26,110
Most of the infantry Ho-tan threw against
Sukekuni were Chinese and Korean levies raised

101
00:07:26,110 --> 00:07:32,389
by the Khan, armed with spears, large wicker
or bamboo shields, and protected by cloth

102
00:07:32,389 --> 00:07:35,009
and gambeson-like armours.

103
00:07:35,009 --> 00:07:41,120
As per Mongol tactics, these troops considered
most expendable were sent in the first waves,

104
00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:47,110
soaking up enemy arrows while the more valuable
Khitan, Jurchen, Turkic and Mongol horse archers

105
00:07:47,110 --> 00:07:49,830
disembarked from the ships.

106
00:07:49,829 --> 00:07:55,209
Generally lightly armoured but highly experienced,
their composite bows made them a deadly counter

107
00:07:55,209 --> 00:07:56,750
to the samurai.

108
00:07:56,750 --> 00:08:02,009
The sea voyage and need to lead their horses
from the landing craft meant they could only

109
00:08:02,009 --> 00:08:06,870
slowly get into their formations, preventing
them from immediately trying to outflank their

110
00:08:06,870 --> 00:08:10,280
enemies as was their usual practice.

111
00:08:10,279 --> 00:08:15,259
While the Mongols readied their horses, the
Korean and Northern Chinese troops were sent

112
00:08:15,259 --> 00:08:16,949
against the samurai.

113
00:08:16,949 --> 00:08:23,009
Per Samurai tradition, battle began with a
whistling arrow sent high into the air; per

114
00:08:23,009 --> 00:08:26,889
Mongol tradition, drums marked the start of
their own advance.

115
00:08:26,889 --> 00:08:32,240
Sukekuni’s skilled archers took a heavy
toll on the foe marching up the beach.

116
00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,698
As the Yuan forces neared them, challenges
for single combat by the Samurai went unanswered

117
00:08:37,698 --> 00:08:44,669
by the Chinese and Koreans, marching as they
were behind rather un-samurai-like large shields.

118
00:08:44,669 --> 00:08:49,969
Unused to the press[ure?] and greatly outnumbered,
Sukekuni pulled his men back to the treeline

119
00:08:49,970 --> 00:08:52,660
where the Yuan advance was slowed.

120
00:08:52,659 --> 00:08:56,639
Here, the swordsmanship of the samurai made
itself known.

121
00:08:56,639 --> 00:09:01,948
One of Sukekuni’s closest comrades, Saito
Sukesada, brought down several of the Yuan

122
00:09:01,948 --> 00:09:05,328
soldiers and one senior Mongol officer.

123
00:09:05,328 --> 00:09:10,379
Standing over the fallen officer, Sukesada
shouted threats at the Mongols, calling on

124
00:09:10,379 --> 00:09:13,049
any who dared face him in battle.

125
00:09:13,049 --> 00:09:18,609
The Mongols responded with arrows, three of
which pierced the armour of Sukesada’s chest

126
00:09:18,610 --> 00:09:20,100
and ended him.

127
00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:24,759
In the tradition held in the history of the
Sō family, seeing the doom that awaited them,

128
00:09:24,759 --> 00:09:31,009
Sō Sukekuni loosed the remainder of his arrows
into the Yuan, and led one final futile cavalry

129
00:09:31,009 --> 00:09:33,209
charge into his foe.

130
00:09:33,208 --> 00:09:38,149
In the end the defenders were slaughtered,
leaving the island open to the Mongols, and

131
00:09:38,149 --> 00:09:41,828
over the following week Tsushima was overrun.

132
00:09:41,828 --> 00:09:46,338
Towns were burnt, many were slaughtered, and
a number of women of the Sō family committed

133
00:09:46,339 --> 00:09:49,509
suicide lest they fall into Mongol hands.

134
00:09:49,509 --> 00:09:52,190
A worse fate awaited the prisoners.

135
00:09:52,190 --> 00:09:57,449
Both Japanese and Yuan sources attest that
wire was threaded through the palms of the

136
00:09:57,448 --> 00:10:02,659
prisoners, mainly women, who were strung along
the prows of the Yuan ships as a gruesome

137
00:10:02,659 --> 00:10:04,110
necklace.

138
00:10:04,110 --> 00:10:10,350
By the 13th of November, Tsushima had fallen
and Ho-tan ordered the fleet to the next island,

139
00:10:10,350 --> 00:10:11,350
Iki.

140
00:10:11,350 --> 00:10:17,300
Here, the deputy shugo Taira Kagetaka had
had time to prepare his forces, sending word

141
00:10:17,299 --> 00:10:19,349
to Kyushu for aid.

142
00:10:19,350 --> 00:10:24,839
After sending women and children to Hinotsume
Castle, he took 100 mounted Samurai and their

143
00:10:24,839 --> 00:10:29,430
retainers to meet the Yuan fleet on the northern
beaches of the island.

144
00:10:29,429 --> 00:10:34,859
Kagetaka’s forces held them off for a few
hours, slowing down the Yuan landing, but

145
00:10:34,860 --> 00:10:37,209
were unable to prevent it.

146
00:10:37,208 --> 00:10:42,678
As the Yuan foothold grew, Kagetaka had no
choice but to withdraw to Hinotsume Castle

147
00:10:42,678 --> 00:10:43,730
in the evening.

148
00:10:43,730 --> 00:10:49,139
Here, the small wooden walls would not long
provide shelter against the warriors who had

149
00:10:49,139 --> 00:10:50,938
taken Xiangyang.

150
00:10:50,938 --> 00:10:56,019
Kagetaka sent his daughter, Katsura-hime,
with a single samurai to take word to the

151
00:10:56,019 --> 00:11:02,610
bakufu, and prepared for a hopeless last stand
as the Yuan encircled the castle.

152
00:11:02,610 --> 00:11:07,019
Women and townspeople within the castle joined
in the defence, hurling what they could at

153
00:11:07,019 --> 00:11:08,419
the enemy.

154
00:11:08,419 --> 00:11:13,860
Catapults and Mongol arrows made short work
of those on the walls, and when Kagetaka attempted

155
00:11:13,860 --> 00:11:19,269
to lead a valiant sally through the gates,
he found the Mongols pushing captive Japanese

156
00:11:19,269 --> 00:11:25,509
before them, wire threaded through their palms,
living cover for Mongolian archers.

157
00:11:25,509 --> 00:11:30,220
His numbers dwindling, Kagetaka led what was
left to the castle.

158
00:11:30,220 --> 00:11:36,300
As fire began to engulf the fort and his remaining
men gave them what time they could, Kagetaka

159
00:11:36,299 --> 00:11:42,438
watched his family commit suicide before he
too joined them in his final act of defiance.

160
00:11:42,438 --> 00:11:47,879
Iki was thus overrun, and slaughter and other
atrocities followed.

161
00:11:47,879 --> 00:11:53,360
Katsura-hime never made it to shore, her boat
coming too close to Mongol arrows.

162
00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:58,959
Survivors, such as Katsura’s Samurai bodyguard,
brought news of the terrors on Tsushima and

163
00:11:58,958 --> 00:12:01,399
Iki to the rest of Japan.

164
00:12:01,399 --> 00:12:06,808
In popular tradition, upon learning of these
horrors the regent, Hojo Tokimune, stated

165
00:12:06,808 --> 00:12:10,688
that this would be the most momentous occasion
of his life.

166
00:12:10,688 --> 00:12:16,028
When asked by a nearby priest how he intended
to reply to the Mongol invasion, Tokimune

167
00:12:16,028 --> 00:12:17,679
shrieked “Katsu!”

168
00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:18,958
- Victory.

169
00:12:18,958 --> 00:12:24,278
As we covered before, the Mongols would not
find victory on the shores of Hakata Bay,

170
00:12:24,278 --> 00:12:29,860
where stiff Japanese resistance and an unexpected
storm pushed the remnants of the fleet back

171
00:12:29,860 --> 00:12:31,919
to the Yuan realm.

172
00:12:31,919 --> 00:12:38,299
Undaunted by the efforts of this small archipelago,
Kublai threw another, even larger fleet against

173
00:12:38,299 --> 00:12:41,438
Japan after he had conquered the Song Dynasty.

174
00:12:41,438 --> 00:12:48,019
In 1281 his forces returned to Tsushima and
Iki, though little information is provided

175
00:12:48,019 --> 00:12:54,250
on these second encounters other than the
fact local defences once again fell quickly.

176
00:12:54,250 --> 00:13:00,399
One detail provided is that Saito Sukesada’s
son, Sō Moriaki, continued in his father’s

177
00:13:00,399 --> 00:13:04,528
legacy and fought the Mongols on the beaches
of Tsushima.

178
00:13:04,528 --> 00:13:09,379
Another is that the crying of children in
the mountains of Tsushima alerted the Mongols

179
00:13:09,379 --> 00:13:14,930
to the presence of families hiding there,
resulting in the deaths of 300.

180
00:13:14,929 --> 00:13:19,959
Ultimately, the invasion of 1281 proved an
even greater disaster than the first, and

181
00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,989
thousands of Chinese, Mongols, and Koreans
met their end in the sea off the coast of

182
00:13:24,989 --> 00:13:27,199
Japan.

183
00:13:27,198 --> 00:13:31,919
Local defenses on Tsushima and the Japanese
islands continued to be maintained during

184
00:13:31,919 --> 00:13:37,299
the following decades for the possibility
of a Mongol return, which was threatened but

185
00:13:37,299 --> 00:13:38,859
never materialized.

186
00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:44,970
Emboldened, Japanese pirates once more began
to threaten the coast line, continuously attacking

187
00:13:44,970 --> 00:13:52,129
Korea throughout the Yuan and Ming eras, and
in time ranging as far afield as Malaysia.

188
00:13:52,129 --> 00:13:57,808
On Tsushima and Iki, memorials stand to the
brave samurai who stood against unstoppable

189
00:13:57,808 --> 00:14:03,198
odds, local heroes who gave their lives for
the defense of their islands, small garrisons

190
00:14:03,198 --> 00:14:06,028
against perhaps the most fearsome army in
history.

191
00:14:06,028 --> 00:14:07,909
Once again, thanks to March of Empire for
sponsoring this video!

192
00:14:07,909 --> 00:14:13,250
This free to download medieval MMO strategy
game is perfect for the fans of history and

193
00:14:13,250 --> 00:14:14,250
Wargaming.

194
00:14:14,250 --> 00:14:15,250
Play as a Highland King, Northern Tsar or
Desert Sultan!

195
00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:16,720
New Update called Wings of Liberty adds new
events, bosses, boosts, shop items and exclusive

196
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:17,720
chest full of thematic equipment.

197
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:18,720
New players are protected from high level
attacks.

198
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,420
Support our channel and build your empire
by downloading now through the link in the

199
00:14:21,419 --> 00:14:23,409
description!

200
00:14:23,409 --> 00:14:27,928
We are planning more videos on the Japanese
and Mongol histories, so make sure you are

201
00:14:27,928 --> 00:14:32,208
subscribed to our channel and have pressed
the bell button.

202
00:14:32,208 --> 00:14:35,248
The link to our podcast is in the description!

203
00:14:35,249 --> 00:14:39,540
We would like to express our gratitude to
our Patreon supporters and channel members,

204
00:14:39,539 --> 00:14:41,870
who make the creation of our videos possible.

205
00:14:41,870 --> 00:14:47,769
Now, you can also support us by buying our
merchandise via the link in the description.

206
00:14:47,769 --> 00:14:51,869
This is the Kings and Generals channel, and
we will catch you on the next one.