The Battle of Bun’ei (The Battle of Hakata Bay)

Every year, on New Year’s Eve, a theatrical festival called The Battle of Bun’ei is held in a remote mountain village. And every year, the village mayor reports to the provincial governor how successful the event was. And every year, the government allocates a subsidy from the budget to support it. Everything was going splendidly — until, one day, a call came from Tokyo informing them that wealthy tourists from Saudi Arabia would be visiting the village…
 

• Prologue
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Epilogue

 
The Battle of Bun’ei (Bun’ei no Eki, 文永の役), also known as the Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan. After conquering Japanese settlements on the islands of Tsushima and Iki, the fleet of Kublai Khan advanced toward Japan and landed in Hakata Bay, not far from Kyushu’s administrative capital of Dazaifu.

Despite their superiority in weaponry and tactics, the Yuan forces did not outnumber the samurai. The Japanese had been preparing — mobilizing warriors and strengthening their defenses — ever since receiving news of the defeats at Tsushima and Iki. Their efforts were aided by powerful storms, which sank a significant portion of the Mongol fleet. After just one day of fighting, the Mongol troops retreated and took shelter on their ships.

That very night, a typhoon — believed to be a divine wind (kamikaze, 神風) — threatened their ships, forcing them to abandon the campaign and return to Korea. Many of the returning vessels sank in the storm. Ultimately, the invasion was completely repelled shortly after the initial landing.

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