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It's well known that the Mongols led two failed invasions of Kyushu ("mainland" Japan) in 1274 and 1281. But according to the 1701 Chūzan Seifu 中山世譜, an official history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Mongols also invaded Ryukyu (Okinawa) in 1292 and 1296. (thread:)
I'd long been curious about this, since this much is repeated in a number of "survey of Okinawan history" sort of texts, but never much more information than this.
(Above image: Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba 蒙古襲来絵詞, Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C5%8Dko_Sh%C5%ABrai_Ekotoba)
(Above image: Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba 蒙古襲来絵詞, Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C5%8Dko_Sh%C5%ABrai_Ekotoba)
I'd been meaning as a side project to look into how this is rep'd in the Yuan shi 元史, the official history of the Yuan dynasty, bc clearly I don't have enough side projects already. Thankfully, I discovered that Kodama Masatо̄ has done the work for us.
Here's the citation: 小玉正任、「元軍、沖縄本島に襲来せず」、沖縄学 12 (2009/Mar), pp52-56.
As you can see in the title, he argues that the Mongols never did invade Okinawa. Surprise.
As you can see in the title, he argues that the Mongols never did invade Okinawa. Surprise.
If you're familiar with the history of the term "Ryukyu" (琉球・瑠求), you can guess the conclusion: the term 「瑠求」(an alternate set of characters for 琉球, i.e. Ryukyu) in this section of the Yuan shi actually refers to *Taiwan.*
(The earliest known appearance of the term "Ryukyu" is in the Book of Sui 隋書, 636 CE. There is debate that this, too, refers to Taiwan and not to Okinawa.)
So, the Yuan shi says "Ryukyu" and means Taiwan, and the Chūzan seifu simply accepts the "fact" and repeats the error.
So, the Yuan shi says "Ryukyu" and means Taiwan, and the Chūzan seifu simply accepts the "fact" and repeats the error.
According to Yuan shi, in 1292, Yáng Xiáng 楊祥 led 6000 men in invading "Ryukyu" 瑠求. They didn't understand one another's language. Three men were killed. They departed without Yang himself coming ashore.
In 1297, Zhāng Hào 張浩 then led another invasion, capturing over 130 people and leaving. That's more or less all we read in most "History of Okinawa" survey books, if they mention this at all. And I think that might be all the Chūzan seifu says as well. (I haven't checked.)
The Yuan shi provides a little bit more detail, noting that on 1272/3/29, Yang Xiang set sail from Fuzhou, reaching "Ryukyu", killing three people, and then withdrawing to Penghu on 4/2. There's further context suggesting this "Ryukyu" to be between Fuzhou and Zhangzhou, and
something about Yuan general Gāoxìng 高興 wanting to move the provincial capital from Fuzhou south to Quanzhou, which would have made it closer to "Ryukyu."
Considering all of this, Kodama argues quite compellingly I think that "Ryukyu" here must be Taiwan, and not the more distant Okinawa Island or any of the other Ryukyu Islands.
That's it. It's a pretty short article, tbh. I might have liked to learn a bit more about the second invasion, these 130 captives. But, it serves the point. I'm convinced: there never was a Mongol invasion of Ryukyu (Okinawa).
If any Yuan/China specialists have thoughts, I'd be interested to hear them. Otherwise, just thought I'd relate the basic summary of what I learned from this article. Cheers, everyone. Mystery solved (I presume?).
