The invasions took place because the Japanese refused to answer Kublai Khan's request for a large tribute. The great khans of the Mongol Empire did not tolerate impudence from their neighbors. As early as 1272, Kublai Khan wanted to launch a strike against Japan. His counselors advised him to bide his time until a proper armada of war ships could be built. The Mongols commissioned the construction of 300 to 600 vessels from the shipyards of southern China and Korea, and conscripted an army of some 40,000 men. Many of the officers were Mongolian, but the majority of the soldiers were ethnic Chinese and Koreans.
The First Invasion, 1274
From the port of Masan in southern Korea, the Mongols and their subjects launched a step-wise attack on Japan in the autumn of 1274.
Hundreds of large ships, and an even larger number of small boats set out into the Sea of Japan. (The exact number of vessels is unknown; estimates range between 500 and 900.)
First, the invaders seized the islands of Tsushima and Iki, which lay about halfway between the tip of the Korean peninsula and the main islands of Japan. Quickly overcoming desperate resistance from the islands' approximately 300 Japanese residents, the Mongol troops slaughtered them all and sailed on to the east. On November 18, the Mongol armada reached Hakata Bay where the samurai army had set up defense. Suenaga relates that the samurai army set out to fight according to their code of bushido; a warrior would step out, announce his name and lineage, and prepare for one-on-one combat with a foe. Unfortunately for the Japanese, the Mongols were not familiar with the code. When a lone samurai stepped forward to challenge them, the Mongols would simply attack him en masse, much like ants swarming a beetle. What saved the Japanese was a great Kamikaze (storm) that destroyed at least a third of the Mongol's ships and at least 13,000 Mongol soldiers drowned. They were forced to sail home leaving the Japanese victorious. For seven years there was peace.
The Second Invasion, 1281
In the spring of 1281, the Japanese got word that a second Yuan invasion force was coming their way. The waiting samurai sharpened their swords and prayed to Hachiman, the Shinto god of war.The Mongols sent two separate forces this time; 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. Japan was able to muster 40,000 samurai and other fighting men. The first fleet arrived and was unable to breach the Samurai defences and a stalemate lasted for 50 days. Soon the main fleet landed the samurai were outnumbered and outclassed. Just when the Japanese were going to be slaughtered 1281, a second typhoon roared ashore at Kyushu. Of the khan's 4,400 ships, only a few hundred rode out the towering waves and vicious winds. Most all the invaders drowned and hundreds more were slaughtered by the samurai. Vary few returned to the Mongol empire.
