Total War Shogun 2 Korea
Desmond Hutchins
The invasions were launched by Toyotomi Hideyoshi with the intent of conquering the Korean Peninsula and China proper, which were ruled by the Joseon and Ming dynasties, respectively. Japan quickly succeeded in occupying large portions of the Korean Peninsula, but the contribution of reinforcements by the Ming,[23][24][25] as well as the disruption of Japanese supply fleets along the western and southern coasts by the Joseon Navy,[26][27][28][29][30] forced the Japanese forces to withdraw from Pyongyang and the northern provinces. Afterwards, with righteous armies (Joseon civilian militias)[31] conducting guerrilla warfare against the occupying Japanese forces and supply difficulties hampering both sides, neither force was able to mount a successful offensive or gain any additional territory, resulting in a military stalemate. The first phase of the invasion ended in 1596, and was followed afterwards by ultimately unsuccessful peace negotiations between Japan and the Ming.
In 1597, Japan renewed its offensive by invading Korea a second time. The pattern of the second invasion largely mirrored that of the first. The Japanese had initial successes on land, capturing several cities and fortresses, only to be halted and forced to withdraw to the southern coastal regions of the peninsula. However, the pursuing Ming and Joseon forces were unable to dislodge the Japanese from these positions,[32][33][34] where both sides again became locked in a ten-month-long military stalemate.
With Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death in 1598, limited progress on land, and continued disruption of supply lines by the Joseon Navy, the Japanese forces in Korea were ordered to withdraw back to Japan by the new governing Council of Five Elders. Final peace negotiations between the parties followed, and continued for several years, ultimately resulting in the normalization of relations.[35]
In 1592, with an army of approximately 158,000 soldiers, Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched what would end up being the first of two invasions of Korea, with the intent of conquering Joseon Korea and eventually, Ming China. Initially, the Japanese forces saw overwhelming success on land, capturing both Hanseong, the capital of Korea, and Pyongyang, and completing the occupation of large portions of the Korean Peninsula in three months. The Japanese forces, well-trained, confident, and experienced after the numerous battles and conflicts of the Sengoku period, typically held the field in most land engagements. This success on land, however, was constrained by the naval campaigns of the Korean navy which would continue to raid Japanese supply fleets in its coastal waters, hampering the Japanese advances as supply lines were disrupted along the Western Korean coast and Japanese naval reinforcements were repelled.[36][37] These trends, with some exceptions on both sides, held true throughout much of the conflict.
Under the rule of the Wanli Emperor, Ming China quickly interpreted the Japanese invasions as a challenge and threat to the Imperial Chinese tributary system.[38] The Ming's interest was also to keep the war confined to the Korean peninsula and out of its own territory.[39] They entered into the conflict by dispatching reinforcements to attack from the north. In the engagements that followed, the majority of the Joseon army was focused on defending the northern provinces from Japanese offensives, while also supporting Ming army campaigns to recapture territory occupied by the Japanese. Consequently, it was the combination of these Ming-led land campaigns and Joseon-led naval warfare that eventually forced the Japanese army to withdraw from Pyongyang to the south, where the Japanese continued to occupy Hanseong and the southern regions with the exception of the southwestern Jeolla Province.[23][24][25] The pursuing Ming and Joseon armies attempted to advance further into the south, but were halted by the Japanese army at the Battle of Byeokjegwan.[40][41] Subsequently, the Japanese armies launched a counterattack in an attempt to reoccupy the northern provinces but were repelled by the defending Joseon army at Haengju fortress. Additionally, Joseon's civilian-led armies actively waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese forces in the south, which weakened the Japanese hold in the cities they occupied.[31] Afterwards, with supply difficulties hampering both sides, neither the Japanese nor the combined Ming and Joseon forces were able to mount a successful offensive or gain any additional territory, resulting in a military stalemate in the areas between Hanseong and Kaesong. The war continued in this manner for five years, and was followed by a brief interlude between 1596 and 1597 during which Japan and the Ming engaged in ultimately unsuccessful peace talks.[42][43]
In 1597, Japan renewed its offensive by invading Korea a second time. The pattern of the second invasion largely mirrored that of the first. The Japanese had initial successes on land, but the contribution of the Ming forces, as well as the Joseon navy's disruption of Japanese supply fleets, resulted in a withdrawal of Japanese forces towards the coastal regions of the peninsula. The pursuing Ming and Joseon forces, however, failed to dislodge the Japanese from their fortresses and entrenched positions in the southern coastal areas[32][33][34] where both sides became locked in a ten-month-long military stalemate.
With Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death in September 1598, limited progress on land, and continued disruption of supply lines along the western and southern coasts by the Joseon navy, the remaining Japanese forces in Korea were ordered to withdraw back to Japan by the new governing Council of Five Elders. Final peace negotiations between the parties followed afterwards and continued for several years, ultimately resulting in the normalization of relations.
In 1392, General Yi Seonggye led a successful coup to take political power in Korea from U of Goryeo. Seonggye's followers forced him to take the crown as Taejo of Joseon, thus establishing a new dynasty.[44] In search of a justification for its rule given the lack of a royal bloodline, the new regime received recognition from China and integration into the Imperial Chinese tributary system within the context of the Mandate of Heaven.[45][46] Within this tributary system, China assumed the role of a "big brother", with Korea maintaining the highest position among the tributary states,[47][48] which also included countries such as the Ryukyu Kingdom, Lan Xang, Đại Việt, and the Ayutthaya Kingdom,[49][50] in return for accepting the subservient tributary role of a "younger brother".[51]
In 1402, the Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (despite not being the Emperor of Japan) was conferred the title of "King of Japan" by the Chinese emperor and through this title had similarly accepted a position in the imperial tributary system as of 1404. This relationship ended in 1408 when Japan, unlike Korea, chose to end its recognition of China's regional hegemony and cancel any further tribute missions.[52] Membership in the tributary system was a prerequisite for any economic exchange with China. In exiting the system, Japan relinquished its trade relationship with China.[53][54][n 2]
One thousand years earlier, the Sui and Tang dynasties of China had complicated political and trading relations with the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Ming China, on the other hand, had close trading and diplomatic relations with the Joseon, which remained integrated in the imperial tributary system, but also received tribute and trade from Sō clan of Tsushima, Japan.[56][57][58][59]
Ming China and Joseon Korea shared much in common. Both emerged during the 14th century after the end of the Yuan dynasty, embraced Confucian ideals in society, and faced similar threats (Jurchen raiders and wokou).[60] Both had competing internal political factions, which would influence decisions made prior to and during the war.[61][62] Because of close trade and common enemies, Joseon and Ming had a friendly alliance.
By the last decade of the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the most preeminent daimyō, had unified all of Japan in a brief period of peace. Since he came to hold power in the absence of a legitimate successor of the Minamoto lineage necessary for the imperial shōgun commission, he sought military power to legitimize his rule and to decrease his dependence on the imperial family.[63] It is also suggested that Hideyoshi planned an invasion of China to fulfill the dreams of his late lord, Oda Nobunaga,[64] and to mitigate the possible threat of civil disorder or rebellion posed by the large number of now-idle samurai and soldiers in unified Japan.[65] It is also possible that Hideyoshi might have set a more realistic goal of subjugating the smaller neighbouring states (the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and Korea) and treating the larger or more distant countries as trading partners,[63] because throughout the invasion of Korea, Hideyoshi sought for legal tally trade with China.[63]
Hideyoshi's need for military supremacy as a justification for his rule, which lacked shōgunal background, could have, on an international level, been eventually transformed into an order with Japan's neighboring countries below Japan.[63] Hideyoshi did not take the title of Shōgun on the grounds that he lacked the necessary Minamoto descent, but since it was very common in 16th-century Japan for genealogists to "discover" that someone had illustrious ancestry for the right price, that suggests that Hideyoshi was planning on creating a new office for himself to replace the bakufu. Hideyoshi was also tempted by an external conflict to prevent internal rebellion within Japan, which would keep his newly formed state united against a common enemy, and prevent the daimyōs from acting on any ambitions against his rule. Fighting a war away from Japanese territory would also prevent territorial destruction, and maintain the infrastructure of the state.[66] Such considerations would be consistent with the fact that Hideyoshi was not shōgun and had no links with the imperial bloodline.
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