"The Imjin Wars"

     Most western history books do not pay much attention to what happened on the Korean peninsula in the late 16th Century, during what was called "The Imjin Wars."  The Mongols' attempted conquest of the world and the subsequent attempted invasion of Japan in the 13th Century is mentioned, but not in detail, and the later Manchu conquest of China is also mentioned, but again, not in detail.  This, the Mongol and Manchu conquests, had to be mentioned since they established two very important dynasties in China,  the Yuan and the Ching Dynasties.  However, the Imjin Wars that took place between Korea and Japan are rarely if ever mentioned.  Yet, these two Japanese attempts at conquest of Korea had an enormous impact on the history of Asia and the rise of Japan as a world power.  It was also during Imjin Wars that a minor Manchu Chieftan by the name of Nurhachi first received notice.  Nurhachi set out to conquer China shortly after the Imjin Wars and his descendants succeeded in the 17th Century and established the Ching Dynasty in China.  So, the Imjin Wars had an overall effect on Asian history, not just Korea and Japan.
     In 1592, a powerful and ambitious Japanese Daimyo (the ruling class) by the name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, convinced others in Japan that he could conquer Korea (at the time it was Chosun Dynasty) and make it a Japanese colony.  Japan had been involved almost in constant civil war for centuries and the united Japanese army was strong, powerful, and very experienced.  In contrast, the Korean (Chosun) army was small, inexperienced, and lacking leadership.  The Chosun government was also somewhat weak and corrupt at the time.  So, the first Imjin War was launched when Japanese forces invaded Korea.  They enjoyed great success and pushed all the way to Manchurian border.  The Japanese sacked the capital Seoul and the northern city of Pyongyang (former capital of Koguryo Empire).  The Korean army was in disarray and no match for the well trained and disciplined, and experienced Japanese army.  The Japanese were also mostly armed with matchlocks, a technology that they first picked up from the Mongols and later improved upon by Portuguese technology.  The Koreans had nothing of a kind and the Korean leaders resisted the new technology of firearms and insisted on bows and arrows.  So, the Japanese literally cut through the Korean defenders with hardly any resistance.
     However, by the time they reached the Manchurian border, they had overstretched their supply lines, and although they were winning on land, they were losing at sea.  A great Korean Admiral, Yi Soong Shin, had developed the armored (iron clad) "turtle" boats which played havoc on Japanese supply ships.  Additionally, at the Manchurian border, the Manchus (Jurchens) under the leadership of Nurhachi stepped in.  The Japanese made the mistake of crossing the border and raiding one of the Jurchen castles.  The Jurchens, although small in numbers, were fierce fighters and they drove the Japanese south.  However, rather than making allies out of Jurchens, the Korean king snubbed Nurhachi, saying that Chosun would not ally itself with savages!  Nurhachi didn't forget the snub and vowed to make Chosun pay for it.  In the meantime, the war came to a stalemate and the Japanese forces withdrew.
     Then Hideyoshi launched a second invasion, the second Imjin War in 1597.  The second war lasted only a year.  The Chinese Ming Dynasty sent troops to help Chosun and together they were able to inflict heavy damage on the invaders.  Then to compound the situation for the Japanese, Hideyoshi died and the Japanese forces were recalled back to Japan.
     However, the Japanese did not leave empty handed.  The Japanese had always admired and prized various artifacts from Korea, especially pottery, lacquer-ware, porcelain, and gold jewelry.  Over 70,000 artisans, pottery workers, lacquer specialists, porcelain experts, goldsmiths, etc., were kidnapped and brought to Japan.  In Kyushu, the famous Satsuma pottery was started, and in towns called Arita and Imari, porcelain centers were built.  Goldsmiths were brought to Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).  Ever wonder how the famous Japanese pottery and porcelain got started?  It was from the Korean "prisoners" that Japan had brought back from Imjin Wars.
     For centuries, two of the most bothersome, and costly adversaries of both Korea and China were the Jurchen (Manchu) raiders and Wako (Japanese) pirates.  The Jurchens mainly pillaged and took valuables.  The Japanese pirates not only pillaged and kidnapped women, but also kidnapped various craftsmen that they brought back to Japan.  So, when the Ming Dynasty army stepped in to help Chosun fight Japanese, they naturally sent their army by way of Manchuria.  The Ming army indiscriminately killed and pillaged whatever Manchus settlements they encountered on their way.  This did not sit well with Nurhachi, the Jurchen Chief, he vowed to avenge those who suffered under Ming army.  It wasn't long after the end of the Imjin Wars that Nurhachi launched his invasion of China, only with a handful of warriors!