On August 13, 1281, an exceptionally violent storm scattered the Mongol fleet besieging the Japanese archipelago in Imari Bay, ending the second invasion attempt led by Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, and giving rise to the legend of the divine wind.
A gigantic fleet blocked by fortifications
At the end of the 13th century, as the heirs of Genghis Khan imposed their rule from Russia to China, Kublai Khan, proclaimed great khan in 1260, launched a first landing attempt at Hakata in June 1281. But the Japanese, who had wasted no time since a first invasion repelled in 1274, put up solid fortifications which forced the Mongols to throw all their forces into the battle.
On August 12, the Mongol troops finally approached Takashima, in Imari Bay, south of Hakata, where a multitude of Japanese boats relentlessly attacked the immense junks of the enemy fleet.
A storm that becomes a national legend
On the evening of August 13, as the battle dragged on, a storm of exceptional violence suddenly arose over the bay. Unable to maneuver in the confined space, the Mongol ships were smashed in great numbers against the rocks, causing a massacre among the empire's troops. Upon learning the news, Kublai Khan definitively abandoned the conquest of the Japanese archipelago.
This episode, which gave rise to the expression kamikaze to designate this providential divine wind, marks the last attempt to invade Japan until the Second World War, during which this same term would be used to designate Japanese suicide pilots, this time without managing to repel the enemy.
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