Asian Maritime Historical ReviewMaritime Disputes | DIS | Fall 2014

5 Seminal Events in the Asian Maritime Theater1. Two Massive Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty

attempts in the thirteenth century to invade Japan. Both failed.!

2. Early fifteenth-century voyages of Zheng He, the great Chinese Muslim explorer !

3. Western subjugation of Asia. European navies dominated the Indo-Pacific!

4. The rise of the Japanese Empire!

5. World War II: For eastern Asia lasted fifteen years, from 1931. The most intense phase of this conflict was the largely maritime struggle from 1941 to 1945 between the great Japanese and U.S. navies.

We will focus today on the first four

1st Mongol Invasion of Japan

01

1st Mongol Invasion of Japan

✤ In 1266, the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan paused in his campaign to subdue all of China, and sent a message to the Emperor of Japan!

✤ He addressed the Emperor as "the ruler of a small country," and advised the Japanese sovereign to pay him tribute at once... or else.

01

1st Mongol Invasion of Japan

✤ Five times over the next six years, Kublai Khan sent his messengers; the Japanese shogun would not allow them even to step on the shore

In 1271 after defeating the southern Song Dynasty, the Mongol empire

(known as the Chinese Yuan Dynasty) stretched from Korea to Hungary.

01

Mongol Invasions of Japan

✤ As early as 1272, Kublai Khan wanted to launch a strike against Japan.!

✤ The Mongols commissioned the construction of 300 to 600 vessels from the shipyards of southern China and Korea!

✤ Raised a conscripted army of 40,000 men. Many of the officers were Mongolian, but the majority of the soldiers were ethnic Chinese and Koreans.!

✤ Japan, which was constantly warring with itself could raise only 10,000 soldiers

01

1st Mongol Invasion of Japan

✤ The first invasion in 1274 launched from the port of Masan with an estimated 500-900 ships!

✤ After slaughtering the residents of Tsushima, they reached Hakata Bay on Nov. 18th!

✤ Samurai fought according to the Bushido Code —big mistake!

✤ Typhoon hit Japan—two days later 1/3 of the ships sank and around 13,000 troops drowned.!

✤ Game Over

2nd Mongol Invasion of Japan

01

2nd Mongol Invasion of Japan

✤ Kublai was quite angry—he stewed for seven years!

✤ Sent a six-man delegation to Japan demanding the Japanese emperor go to China and “Kowtow”!

✤ Japanese beheaded the Chinese diplomats —a grave insult.!

✤ Japanese begin to prepare for second invasion, raising 40,000 troops this time

01

2nd Mongol Invasion of Japan

✤ In 1281 Kublai sent two separate forces !

✤ One with 900 ships containing 40,000 Chinese, Korean and Mongol Troops that sailed from Masan!

✤ The second with 100,000 Chinese and Mongol troops aboard 3,500 ships sailing from southern China.!

✤ Troops from Korea arrived June 23 —they were too small to defeat coastal defenses!

✤ There was a stalemate for 50 days until the larger forces arrived on August 12

01

The Japanese Miracle

✤ Truth is stranger than fiction!

✤ On August 15, in the face of certain defeat and subjugation another typhoon sank nearly all the ships!

✤ Nearly all the remaining men were slaughtered by the Samurai!

✤ The Japanese called the two storms Kamikaze , or "divine winds." !

✤ Kublai Khan seemed to agree that Japan was protected by supernatural forces; he abandoned the idea of conquering them

The Voyages of Zheng He

01

The Amazing Zheng HeSeven voyages from 1405-1433

7 Voyages of Zheng He

01

01

Voyages 1405-1433

Video

01

Why Did it End? ✤ A new emperor, whose court was

uninterested, even hostile, to the continuation of his naval adventures!

✤ Faced with the Mongol threat on their northwest border, and the huge financial drain of the expeditions, Ming scholar-officials deplored the extravagant voyages of the Treasure Fleet. !

✤ The treasure ships were decommissioned, and sat in harbors until they rotted away!

✤ Later emperors and scholars sought to erase the memory of these great expeditions from Chinese history.!

✤ However, Chinese monuments and artifacts scattered all around the rim of the Indian Ocean, as far as the Kenyan coast, provide solid evidence of Zheng He's passage.

The Europeans in Asia

Portuguese Expeditions

Portuguese expeditions 1415–1542: arrival places and dates; Portuguese spice trade routes in the Indian Ocean (blue); territories of

the Portuguese empire under King John III rule (green)

European Colonies Asia

01

The Carving Up of ChinaA shocked mandarin in Manchu robe in the back, with Queen Victoria (UK), William II (Germany), Nicholas II (Russia), Marianne (France), and Mutsuhito (Japan) cutting up a king cake with Chine ("China" in French) written on it.

The Rise of the Japanese Empire

Japanese Timeline

Japanese Timeline

Iwakura Mission 1871On December 23, 1871 the mission sailed from Yokohama bound for San Francisco. From there it continued to Washington, D.C., then to the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Bavaria, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. !!On the return journey, Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong, and Shanghai were also visited, although much more briefly. The mission returned home September 13, 1873

The Seikanron Debate 1873

The Seikanron (Japanese: 征韓論; Korean: 정한론) "Advocacy of a punitive expedition to Korea"

01

Japan-Korea Relations

Waegwan

01

✤ All trade was conducted through intermediaries with the Sō family in Tsushima.!

✤ Traders were confined to the waegwan and no Japanese were allowed to travel to the Korean capital at Seoul.!

✤ In 1868 Japan wanted to change to modern state to state relations with Korea!

✤ In 1869 an envoy from Japan brought a letter requesting a goodwill mission be established between the two countries

Japan’s Attempts to Establish Relations with Korea

01

Japan’s Attempts to Establish Relations with Korea✤ The letter contained the seal of the Meiji

government rather than the seals authorized by the Korean Court for the Sō family to use.!

✤ It also used the character ko (皇) rather than taikun (勅) to refer to the Japanese emperor!

✤ This character was only used for the Chinese emperor —the letter was rejected.!

✤ A great debate ensued whether or not to “punish” Korea for insulting the emperor!

✤ Saigō Takamori even offered to go to Seoul to be assented to start a war.!

✤ The debate was eventually won by moderates due to their experience from the Iwakura Mission and the fear of western reprisal

Saigō Takamori

Just for Fun

01

Who can identify this?

01

September 8, 1816: Likely the first English lesson to take place in Korea

Getting back…

01

Final Considerations

1.Two Massive Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty attempts in the thirteenth century to invade Japan. Both failed.!

2. Early fifteenth-century voyages of Zheng He, the great Chinese Muslim explorer !

3. Western subjugation of Asia. European navies dominated the Indo-Pacific!

4. The rise of the Japanese Empire

What effects did these have on

current attitudes by

both the public and the

leadership in Asia?

Homework: Read Chapter One • The Introduction is optional

Goodbye

"I, on my part, feel a certain kinship with Korea, given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the mother of Emperor Kammu was of the line of King Muryong of Paekche,"

–Emperor Akihito (2001)