Mongol Invasions of Japan 1274 and 1281 with Army Structure, Armor, Weapons and Tactics Used - 1/2

The full history behind the video game "Ghost of Tsushima". In 1274 and 1281 the Mongol Empire turned its gaze towards the isolated island nation of Japan. After sending envoys to Japan with no luck diplomatically Kublai Khan the Mongol leader made the decision to invade Japan.
The Mongols would attack the Islands 2 times...the first is covered here in this video...part 2 in a few days will cover the 2nd.
The two warrior types of Mongol Warrior and Samurai differed from each other in not just arms and armor but also in tactics and strategy. This covers the full Mongol and Japanese history behind the invasion of Tsushima, Iki and the mainland of Japan.
We also cover in detail the structure, culture, tactics, weapons and armor of both the Mongol and Samurai Army.
Support this channel on Patreon: / yore_history
Music:
Samuele Birolini
Song: "Bushido The Way of the Warrior
/ @samuelebirolini-composer
/ user-172786381
also
Epidemicsound.com
Book Sources:
Early Samurai AD 200-1500 - Anthony Bryant/Angus Mcbride
Samurai Commanders 940-1576 - Stephen Turnbull/Richard Hook
Samurai The World of the Warrior - Stephen Turnbull
The Mongol Invasions of Japan 1274/1281 - Stephen Turnbull
The Mongol Invason of Japan - Yamada Nakaba
#GhostofTsushima #Mongols #Samurai

[@BlueBaron3339]

It's not been easy to find something that can hold my full attention for twenty minutes. It feels like each month of lockdown shortens my attention span in alarming ways. This video, however, broke through all that. It held my attention, my focus, and my interest in ways few videos have lately. Thank you!

[@YoreHistory]

I hear you as my own attention span is that way too at times. Glad it kept your interest will try to do the same with finale. Cheers!

[@YoreHistory]

Cheers everyone. I am really happy with how this video turned out. Part 2 will play after this episode...if not its up on the channel in addition to a single episode containing both parts. ERRATA: I misspoke in the video during the Samurai Armour and Sword segment and referred to the Japanese sword as Katana when it was during this time a Tachi that was used...longer and more curved.

[@Rocinante2300]

I’m really impressed with the growth in quality in your videos, well done

[@YoreHistory]

Thanks very much. Unfortunately as a team of 1 it means they will take a bit longer till i get faster and developer shortcuts but appreciate the feedback! Cheers!

[@a.h.tvideomapping4293]

Yore History honestly I love quality over quantity and I’m very impressed by how much quality a historical video can have with just a team of 1. This was very good keep at it

[@edishasora5200]

@@YoreHistory keep at it sir. The KZbin algorithm seems to keep suggesting your channel over history enthusiasts. Very much sure your channel be the top tier of history channel on KZbin soon. And I think the yore life series is one of your channel signature and none of other channel has done it before. It took us deeper into personal life's on history. And that means huge possible contents hehe

[@YoreHistory]

@@edishasora5200 Thanks for the feedback. Don't worry the Yore Life series isn't going anywhere it just slowed down and I noticed with the Constantinople video which did much better that if I want to grow the channel I need variety. I am positive those Yore history will in the long run become popular I just need to juggle a bit at the moment to keep momentum where I can find it but after part 2 its back to those :)

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

Professionally presented, diverse art and a tight edit! What could be done better to me? Nothing. We should have to pay for videos 👍 like this.

[@YoreHistory]

Thanks Hayden, appreciated! Thanks for watching!

[@choirboyzcutleryoutdoors]

Great! Video!!!

[@YoreHistory]

Thanks!

[@ciuyr2510]

Thank you for video, sir

[@YoreHistory]

Cheers!

[@ariangoleh]

Another great work. I urge the history lovers to follow this channel 👏🏻 Bravo

[@YoreHistory]

Thank you very much! Cheers!

[@samuelebirolini-composer]

Very interesting! 😊

[@YoreHistory]

Thanks again!

[@herrrobert5340]

Can't believe I have not seen your channel before. Really good quality of the video. I hope all of your older videos hold the same standard. Subscribed.

[@YoreHistory]

Thanks Herr Robert, appreciate you dropping by to watch! Cheers!

[@YoreHistory]

Truth is I am a one person channel so it has been a process of continual improvement...while the older videos are good story wise the production values were definitely not as good as I would say the last two dozen have been with the last half dozen being like this one. But I can assure you moving forward it will only get better.

[@herrrobert5340]

@@YoreHistory I have started watching your older videos on Persia and you are being too humble. Really good quality on those as well. Keep up the good work!

[@YoreHistory]

@@herrrobert5340 Glad you are enjoying :) The Parthian series is a favourite of mine as well. Thanks for watching!

[@bpdarragh]

Excellent, love the artwork as well. Who done the paintings?

[@YoreHistory]

The maps and battle tokens/banners are made by me. The 2.5D stuff is done by me chopping up art and using parallax and other techniques for 2.5d motion but the paintings are either digital art/hand drawn or older public domain art.

[@rokuthedog]

Nice!

[@YoreHistory]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@steffengronewold8769]

Awesome video. On par with the other great history channels.

[@YoreHistory]

Cheers and thanks Steffen, appreciated and thanks for watching!!!

[@a.h.tvideomapping4293]

Yeah he even sounds like one of the narrators of Simple History. Can definitely tell that this was heavily researched and revised. Definitely up to par with other history channels. He’s so underrated

[@XtReMz98]

I knew the mongols streched far and wide, but had no clue they actually attacked Japan. Still, their retreat seemed odd considering they had wiped out most forces upon landing.

[@YoreHistory]

Most of the evidence seems to point to the Japanese style of identifying ranked targets and then killing them as having helped considerably. Much of the Mongol senior leadership was killed. They may have felt given they were only a few kilometers inland that those and troop losses meant subjugating the entire island would require more forces. THe rest of Japan had not even fully mobilized so they may have just seen the writing on the wall and thus the quadrupling in size of the 2nd invasion.

[@user-ky9rz1tj2u]

Mongolia's War of Conquest of Earth

[@maneco88]

Historymarch, hoc bellum or something like that and yore the best story channel, thank you.

[@YoreHistory]

Thanks for watching maneco88, appreciated!

[@bpdarragh]

Check out Baz Battles, slightly different, but also excellent use of graphics. A lot of European and UK battles

[@maneco88]

@@bpdarragh yeah am a sub on baz, and go check a new channel called deuratus.

[@YoreHistory]

@@bpdarragh Im a longtime fan of Baz Battles as well...his channel was probably the initial inspiration behind starting this channel and HistoryMarche for what is possible production and graphics wise (Although I know now its done mostly by Hoc Est Bellum :)

[@bpdarragh]

@@maneco88 Cant seem to find that deuratus channel?

[@HVLLOWS1999]

Someone has been playing Ghost of Tsushima.

[@YoreHistory]

Two hours of it yes and after part 2 will finally get to play some more its been all work and this video lol. Cheers!

[@runevi]

Was Hakata Bay the only place suitable for a landing invasion of that size on the Japanese coast? Since both invasion attempts took place there?

[@YoreHistory]

There were other suitable spots but for smaller scale. Hakata Bay due to its layout really calms the water (well Tsunami's notwithstanding...) allowing a large fleet of hundreds of ships enough space to lay anchor and row to shore.

[@abcdedfg8340]

​@@YoreHistory You may want to re-assess the performance of the samurai against the yuan forces. They actually did quite well fighting in mounted archer bands during the Kyushu portion(they heard how to counter the mongols from survivors of the islands). The mongols(most of their army being conscripted chinese and koreans) gave up after just 1 day. They even defeated the second invasion in 1281, where they steadily drove the mongols(and their conscripted subjects) back onto their ships over 2 months. The japanese won both invasions even before the storms hit, but it sounds better in the history books if one attributes it to divine intervention, like the spanish armada being defeated by the english, but they gave credit to the storms after the fact.

[@a.h.tvideomapping4293]

“The Mongols tried to invade Japan but then died in a tornado then they did it a second time then D I E D I N A T O R A N D O” -some intellectual a couple years ago

[@YoreHistory]

Hehe aye...was a Tsunami during 2nd invasion which will be in part 2. Cheers!

[@Fakeslimshady]

PLEASE RESPECT US OR WE MIGHT HAVE TO INVADE YOU AS WELL

[@shintaro797]

That tornado had a name though: Jin Sakai

[@YoreHistory]

@@shintaro797 Such a good game. My only wish would have been full RPG with that open world :)

[@shintaro797]

@@YoreHistory Indeed. Game was so good that Japan was actually jealous of it. Have you tried the multiplayer mode though?

[@elmerperez1056]

Do you know the name of the breed of horses that the Mongols used for their heavy cavalry? I think it was a breed of Chinese origin

[@YoreHistory]

Aduu ;)

[@elmerperez1056]

@@YoreHistory Thanks :)

[@brokenbridge6316]

Have you ever considered making a video on the life of a Samurai Warrior?

[@YoreHistory]

Yes its on my ever growing list...will be back to the life series after this. Once i finish one ill replace it and Samurai is a leading candidate.

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@YoreHistory---Sounds nice. Have you also ever considered making a video on the Medjay too?

[@YoreHistory]

@@brokenbridge6316 They are interesting but not much information exists so would be tough but there are other African warriors id like to do episodes on for sure.

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@YoreHistory---Okay. Sounds nice.

[@diegoragot655]

Do you like Imperator Rome??? and have you heard about the Daylamites?

[@YoreHistory]

I love most historic/strategic/battle style games like that :) Yes heard of the Daylamites...likely will cover the Buyid Dynastiy at some point :)

[@ajithsidhu7183]

@@YoreHistory pla do one on the sikh empire and hari singh nalwar

[@YoreHistory]

@@ajithsidhu7183 Funny you mention that. I have been working on a script for Sikh warriors as part of my warrior series. I live in Vancouver and we have a large Punjabi Sikh community and its something I have studied quiet a bit so yes will appear at some point! Probably during era of Guru Gobind Singh :)

[@ajithsidhu7183]

@@YoreHistory yes please do one too on the invasion of Afghanistan ,the battle of paanj sher where 5 troops took a fort and camel tank

[@diegoragot655]

@@YoreHistory and what about the Cadusii?? They aided the Persians against the Medes

[@larrywave]

I have two things 1.mongol horses most likely would not be larger as they would breed with Przewalski's horse, if the invading army had bigger horses would those horses come from chinese or koreans (who were most of the invading army with jurchens) 2.as far as i know only sources that say mongols used poisoned arrows are japanese and it would be more likely that it was jurchens who were using them

[@YoreHistory]

The Mongols were known to have used at least two types of sources for their poison toxins. I will find the sources I used but pretty sure I had Mongol sources as well to corroborate. The Mongol horses as you mentioned were known to be small but the Japanese horses native to the islands were a grouping of 8 pony breeds...species likely evolved via island dwarfism. I will find my specific poison sources. Great comment thanks! :)

[@YoreHistory]

Ok have looked it up...so yes the Mongols used two types of poisons...one from Tibet came later but the poison found in snakes native to their homeland was said to have been learned from the Scythians by other Steppe peoples who were known to handle poison arrows similarly since antiquity. From my notes and book sources in my description.

[@larrywave]

@@YoreHistory glad you answered 😄

[@larrywave]

@@YoreHistory great to know 😄👌

[@haytxa911]

you sound like Joe Rogan

[@YoreHistory]

Hehe first time ive heard that. I like watching his vlogs...pity he's going to Spotify. For me the guy on Weird History sounds like John Hein from the Stern Show.