Download PDF | The Origins Of The Lost Fleet Of The Mongol Empire
217 Pages
Preface
THE STORY OF Kamikaze plays an important role in the history and society of Japan. The “original” Kamikaze, or divine wind, took place in the late thirteenth century CE. This was the time when the Mon¬ gols became the dominant force in East Asia, conquering vast terri¬ tories and creating the largest empire in the world. After subjugating the peninsula country of Korea, Khubilai Khan, the emperor of the Mongols, decided to invade Japan. Khubilai sent naval forces across the Tsushima Straits in 1274 CE with nine hundred ships. Histori¬ cal documents suggest that a fierce battle took place near Hakata in northern Kyushu; however, the Mongols retreated after a few days of fighting, burning the city and damaging the prosperous center of international trade. Perhaps this was more of a raid in nature.
At the time, Khubilai had not completed the conquest of China, but soon after this invasion of Japan, he decided to finish the Chi¬ nese; this was the first time in history that the “barbarians” from the northern steppes conquered all of China. The task of conquering the great maritime empire of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279 CE) was a watershed event in the history of East Asia. After receiving “the mandate of heaven” and becoming the unified ruler of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 CE) of China, Khubilai once again set his eyes on invading the island nation of Japan. In 1281 CE he sent a massive fleet of more than 4,400 vessels from both China and Korea to con¬ quer the land ruled by samurai. The fate of Japan as an independent nation was about to be decided. When the massive fleet was gathered in Imari Bay in western Japan, near the island of Takashima (fig. i), a powerful typhoon struck the fleet and crushed the ships into pieces. Historical documents from China, Korea, and Japan all agree that most of the fleet, perhaps as many as 90 percent of the ships, was lost.^ Khubilai’s dream of becoming tbe one and only ruler in East Asia perished with tbe legendary storm that Japanese called Kami¬ kaze, a divine wind that protected the nation.
Over time, the legend of divine wind was not forgotten, but the detailed story of the event was lost. People remembered the terror that the Mongols had caused, but no one ever thought about system¬ atically studying the event or collecting historical documents. Once the study of history and archaeology began to be emphasized in the modern era, a new epoch of research commenced. Historians exam¬ ined original documents and iconographies from China, Korea, and Japan to reveal the secrets of the event. Perhaps the most useful evi¬ dence for the study of the Mongol invasions of Japan has been Moko Shurai Ekotoba, a contemporary scroll painting, skillfully drawn to illustrate the fighting deed of a young samurai, Takezaki Suenaga, to impress the shogun (fig. 2). Although the ships are drawn in detail.
it is not certain if the features are depicted accurately, and there are still more questions than answers. How powerful was the storm, and were there any human errors involved in this catastrophic event? Is the number of ships reported in historical documents correct, and how many vessels were lost during the storm? Numerous questions were asked, and many scholarly articles and hooks were written about the subject, detailing the events as well as listing possible cause of failures.^ Despite much effort and a few great accomplishments, the real story of the invasion could not be known without recovering the actual remains. People dreamed of finding a vessel filled with artifacts from the invasion that was obliterated by the storm, but it remained a dream for many.
The dream of finding vessels from the invasion became a reality when Japanese underwater archaeologists began to uncover pieces of artifacts and remains of hulls from the island of Takashima beginning in the early 1980s. The Takashima underwater site in Nagasaki pre¬ fecture has produced a large collection of artifacts related to the in¬ vasion, and archaeologists have analyzed these remains and pubHshed the results.^ This site has the potential of finally shedding light on the mysteries surrounding the historical event that changed the course of the nation. Unfortunately, the successful research of this archaeologi¬ cal site has been largely ignored hy western scholars because most of the publications have not been translated into English. One excep¬ tional book was written by James P. Delgado, titled Khubilai Khans Lost Fleet: In Search of a Legendary Armada!^ This book tells the story of the discovery and significance of the archaeological finds. Delgado, a world-renowned maritime archaeologist, is not a specialist in tradi¬ tional East Asian shipbuilding technologies, and thus the book only touches the surface of what the remains of ships might reveal. The book that you are now holding in your hand is about the detailed ac¬ count of the discovery and analysis of the actual remains of timbers from the shipwrecks found beneath the waves. As you will read, in the hands of a trained archaeologist the physical remains of the ves¬ sels can reveal a story.
In the fall of 2011 the discovery of an intact vessel from the sec¬ ond Mongol invasion from the Takashima underwater site was an¬ nounced to the international media. This discovery, made by the team from Ryuku University led by Yoshifumi Ikeda, was what people had been waiting to see for thirty years since the search for sunken vessels began at Takashima. Later, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs announced that the Takashima underwater site will be designated a National Historic Site. This was the first time in the country that an underwater archaeological site has been awarded such status—the highest rank given to historic monuments and archaeological sites. These news reports often omit the fact that archaeologists must spend years or even decades analyzing artifacts before making any sense of the discovery.
After a prefiminary recording of the site was made, the hull was covered to allow research in the future. Excavating a hull underwater requires a large sum of money, and once artifacts are raised, all items must be conserved before being made available for the public. The research team and the local government at Takashima did not have the means to pay for all of this. In 2014 a decision was reached that this hull would not be raised but kept underwater, with a program of monitoring in place. Archaeologists record temperature fluctua¬ tion, pH level, dissolved oxygen, and other parameters that may have a detrimental effect on the preservation of the site. Based on these recordings, archaeologists determine the most efficient method to preserve the site in situ.
It appears that the ship did not carry much cargo; only a handful of ceramics jars and hricks—which may have been used as ballast— was found. Two possible scenarios can be drawn from this. First, the vessel was not carrying cargo; it was a landing craft. Second, the ship was carrying cargo, but all had been lost during the storm and sub¬ sequent depositional events. The hull was built in China, using iron nails and constructed with bulkheads —characteristic of a Chinese vessel. (However, no bulkheads were found in place; only impressions and nails indicating their locations were found. Bulkheads most Hkely had been removed through natural processes.) The original overall length of the ship may have exceeded 20 meters, but without cargo and without a detailed analysis of the hull itself, we cannot make any further comments. Japanese archaeologists may decide to raise this hull in the future, and if that happens, a great story will surely be told.
The decision not to raise the hull, I believe, was the right decision to make. Although we may not know the details of the hull, the time and money can be spent to search for a hull that may be better pre¬ served, full of artifacts that reveal the mysteries of the Mongol inva¬ sions. The hull we have now is indeed one of the greatest archaeologi¬ cal discoveries in the nation; however, it also proves that something better may be found one day, and the resources must be allocated for that purpose. Fortunately, prior to this recent find, many great dis¬ coveries had been made, including the large complete anchors and a large collection of hull remains, weapons, and other personal items related to the second Mongol invasion. You do not have to wait to know more about these significant finds because the most up-to-date account of the important discoveries made at the Takashima under¬ water site prior to 2011 will be presented here.
The main theme of this book is to reveal the naval organization of the second Mongol invasion of Japan through the analysis of tim¬ ber remains of hulls discovered at the Takashima underwater site. The naval organization includes what kinds of ships were brought to Japan, where they were built, how the ships were constructed, and what the strategy was behind the invasion plan. These questions are continuously asked throughout the hook, which is organized into ten chapters. In the first chapter I will describe the history of research at the Takashima underwater site and the story of how I got involved with the project. Perhaps this chapter is the most personal account within the book.
The historical background of East Asia and the in¬ vasion will be described in chapter 2. The naval organization at the time, as well as typical ships of East Asia, reconstructed with ar¬ chaeological and historical records, will be illustrated in the following chapter. In chapter 4 a brief description and analysis of artifacts other than hull timbers will be given. The next chapter, which is the most technical section in this book, discusses the methodology I used to categorize the timber remains. Each and every timber was assigned to a category based on the component within the hull, including planks, bulkheads, and beams. In the next three chapters, I explain other ana¬ lytical methods employed for the study of the hull remains including descriptive and detailed study of some of the selected timbers, wood species identification, and joinery analysis.
The last chapter before the conclusion deals with questions people have repeatedly asked. Answers to a few of those questions have been revealed through this research including the two most important: what was the state of Japanese defense, and were the invading vessels hastily constructed to meet the demands imposed by Khubilai Khan? Although many research questions remain unanswered due to the nature of the site, the timber remains provide fresh insights into how the Mongols organized the naval forces and what types of vessels they brought to Japan. These questions could not be answered without the dedicated work by Japanese maritime archaeologists and their efforts to bring this important archaeological site to the world’s attention.
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