Invasion of Tsushima

The **Invasion of Tsushima** was the Mongol attack on the Japanese island of Tsushima and the major conflict of the video game.

## Prelude

Following the Conquest of Goryeo, Kublai Khan—the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire—ordered his cousin Khotun to conquer Japan next. Deciding to start with Tsushima, Khotun assembled a mighty Mongol fleet and sailed to the island. The main objective of the invasion was to create a base of operations on Tsushima for the Mongols to later move onward into mainland Japan.

## Invasion

### First Stage

The Mongol fleet under Khotun Khan land at Komoda Beach, where they are met by the full force of the samurai who protect Tsushima under Lord Shimura. The samurai forces include men and lords from the five dominant clans: Clan Shimura, Clan Sakai, Clan Adachi, Clan Kikuchi and Clan Nagao. The samurai are massacred suffering a great defeat at the Battle of Komoda Beach, with very few escaping alive. Lord Shimura is then captured by the Mongols while his protege Jin Sakai—who is gravely wounded—is rescued by a thief named Yuna and cared back to health.

Following their decisive victory at Komoda Beach, the Mongols invade Izuhara, the southern part of Tsushima. Burning down Komoda Town and capturing Azamo Bay, the Mongols also take over Castle Kaneda, where they keep their prisoner Lord Shimura.

Jin Sakai—recovered from his wounds—leads an insurrection against the Mongols and bands a group of mighty warriors, including Masako Adachi and Sadanobu Ishikawa. With his allies, Jin assaults Castle Kaneda and rescues his uncle Lord Shimura. Despite their victory in Castle Kaneda, Jin's friend Ryuzo—who led the Straw Hat ronin—proclaims his support for the Mongols and abandons the people of Tsushima to the enemy.

### Second stage

During the events in the south, the Mongols conquer and spread throughout Toyotama. Khotun Khan besieges Clan Shimura and Lord Shimura's home in Castle Shimura and forces the garrison to surrender with Ryuzo's help. With the loss of his ancestral home, Lord Shimura and Jin Sakai prepare to assemble an army by requesting reinforcements from the Shogun in the mainland, and persuading the people of Yarikawa to join them.

Jin helps lift the Siege of Yarikawa and freeing the people of Yarikawa, acquiring their support in the fight ahead under his banner. He also travels to Umugi Cove to get a smuggler indebted to Lord Shimura to push through the Mongol blockade on the island and get Shimura's aid request to the shogun in the mainland.

By spreading terror in the Mongol ranks, Jin becomes known as "The Ghost" and a savior figure throughout the land. Lord Shimura starts disapproving of Jin's methods and Khotun Khan seeks to explore this family rift to weaken his opponents.

### Third stage

After losing Castle Shimura, the Mongols raided the northern region using Jin's poison and killing many in the Kin prefecture. Khotun led his forces to settle in Port Izumi where he prepared his army and fleet for the assault on the Japanese mainland once and for all.

## Aftermath

Although the invasion ended with the samurai retaking the island, there remained a litany of issues that had to be solved. Most obvious being the remaining Mongols; though they had lost their leader and fleet, many remained, now stranded on the island, surviving by pillaging and attacking villages.

While the legend of "The Ghost" had successfully rallied the people, it was now disrupting the island's hierarchy. Due to Jin having taught them to fight for themselves, the people were now directing their faith toward him. As a result, more-and-more volunteers joined his army, and soon even he himself couldn't control them anymore. This caused the Shogun to consider "The Ghost" an even greater threat than the Mongols, prompting him to disband Clan Sakai and order Lord Shimura to kill his nephew. However, he was unsuccessful and Jin went into hiding whilst continuing to fight the invaders.

## List of Battles

* Battle of Komoda Beach
* Battle of Castle Kaneda
* Battle of Azamo Bay
* Siege of Yarikawa
* Battle of Fort Mitodake
* Siege of Castle Shimura
* Battle of Umugi Cove
* Battle of Jogaku Temple
* Battle of Fort Kaminodake
* Battle of Port Izumi

## Trivia

* The real-life invasion of Tsushima in 1274 only lasted a few days and the Mongol fleet was eventually forced to retreat from an unexpected typhoon and a stalemate fight against an army of thousands of samurai and *ashigaru* (foot soldiers) after reaching Hakata Bay in the mainland island of Kyushu, Japan.