Mongol invasions of Japan
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Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of macro-historical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in the history of Japan. The invasions are referred to in many works of fiction and are the earliest events for which the word kamikaze is widely used, originating in reference to the two typhoons faced by the Yuan fleets.
Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281
Letter from Kublai Khan of the "Great Mongol State" (大蒙古國) to the "King of Japan" (日本國王), written in Classical Chinese, the lingua franca in East Asia at the time, dated 8th Month, 1266. Now stored in Tōdai-ji, Nara, Japan.
Samurai Mitsui Sukenaga (right) defeating the Mongolian invasion army (left)
The Mongol fleet destroyed in a typhoon, ink and water on paper, by Kikuchi Yōsai, 1847
Yuan dynasty
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The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from the Borjigin clan, and lasted from 1271 to 1368. In Chinese history, the Yuan dynasty followed the Song dynasty and preceded the Ming dynasty.
The Bailin Temple Pagoda of Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province, built in 1330 during the Yuan dynasty
A Yuan dynasty jade swan
A Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain dish with fish and flowing water design, mid-14th century, Freer Gallery of Art