The attempted invasion of Japan by Kublai has always been a fascinating topic for me, since its one of the few things these Mongols could not do.

The major problem was their reliance on a foreign power to provide the ships to get there. As you can imagine the Mongols were not skilled sailors, so they had to depend mostly on Korean and Chinese ships to adequately lay the preliminaries. The following is a timeline of the initiation of the Mongol invasion of Japan. Looking at the passing of years, if I were Khan I would be most impatient with the progress!


1259 - Kublai Khan conquers the weak Chinese and is proclaimed Emperor of China. Korea accepts client state status, Japan is free from Mongol influence due to the seas.

1266 - The Great Khan attempts to send envoys to Japan to demand their submission to the Mongols. Japanese spies in Korea keep apprised of any military buildups. The envoys do not even manage to leave the ports with their Korean escort due to 'weather.'

1268 - The Khan is angered: more envoys are sent, and this time they land in Dazaifu. The demands cause panic at the Emperor's palace in Kyoto, but the real power of the Kamakura in Japan pays little heed. A vague letter is drafted by the Emperor's court and sent back to the Khan, denying total submission but leaving room for compromise.

1271 - Korean regents press the Khan to invade Japan as a way of deflecting attention of the Khan on themselves. Kublai sends another envoy with the same demands. The Japanese expel the envoy without a response despite his ultimatums.

1274 - The first invasion of Japan... (Part 2)