2.27. History of the Mongols: Consequences of Invasion of Japan

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most popular discussions of the Mongol invasions of Japan simply end with the typhoon of 1281 wiping out the Yuan fleet off the coast of Kyushu. This was not the end of Kublai Khan’s dreams to conquer Japan though, nor do such retellings present the long term consequences of the invasion. Today, we will do just that, describing what happened in the years after the events of the new video game,</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Ghost of Tsushima</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">. Our previous two episodes have discussed the first invasion in 1274, the story of Takezaki Suenaga, a samurai who fought in both invasions, and went over in brief the invasion of 1281. If you’re following Kings and Generals on Youtube, then you’ve also seen one of our newest videos, focusing on the battles on Tsushima and Iki islands. Now, we’re going to tie together everything we’ve talked about, and how this huge expenditure of men and resources affected both Japan, and Kublai Khan’s Yuan Empire. I’m your host David, but just before we get to today's content, we here at Ages of Conquest would like to say thank you to you, our listeners who download the podcast every week. Your support is greatly appreciated and the reason we do this. You could help us even more by donating through our patreon at</span> <a href= "http://www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or by leaving a five star review in your podcast app of choice! And now, this is,Ages of Conquest.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ll start off with the impact on Japan and then go into the consequences for Kublai later on in the episode. In Japan, the impact was significant but not immediate. In the days after the typhoon in August 1281, the Japanese killed the Mongol and Korean survivors they found. The Chinese were spared the sword, instead enslaved with few returning. Though a victory, the Japanes