Fortress Japanese Castles in Korea 1592-98 Osprey Books

The Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1592 to 1598, was the only occasion in Japanese history when samurai aggression was turned against a foreign country. It is therefore of great historical importance, as are the fortifications, many of which still exist, that the Japanese invaders built to control the occupied country. Twenty-five were built, and are called wajo in Japanese or waesong in Korean, different readings of the same characters that mean Japanese castles. All are now ruined, but, unlike the castles in Japan itself, the Korean examples were never developed or modernised after the Japanese withdrawal, and therefore often preserve details of late sixteenth century Japanese castle construction much better than home-grown structures. In addition to creating their own system of castles, most of which were located at coastal sites, the Japanese also made use of existing Korean fortifications, particularly city walls - a phenomenon unknown in Japan. These were built in a style reminiscent of the Ming Great Wall of China, but as the Japanese despised Korean styles of castle design the result of their conversions were curious hybrids that often made use of earthwork parapets not unlike contemporary Dutch fortifications.From within converted Korean city walls and transplanted Japanese castles the samurai controlled occupied Korea between 1593 and 1597, when their second invasion began. But in late 1597 they began to suffer a furious onslaught from huge Chinese armies determined to eject them from the peninsula. The main thrusts were directed against the Japanese fortresses. Attacks were also launched on the castles by Korean ships, Korean guerrillas, including warrior monks, and some very sophisticated artillery including mortars and exploding shells. This work builds on the author's Japanese Castles 15401650 and Japanese Fortified Temples 9401603 already published in the Fortress series.