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(chin.: Japanese discussion: wako; Korean discussion: waegu) Piraten were, of 13. Century to the coasts of China and Korea afflicted. It consisted to large parts from Japanese soldiers, Ronin, and dealers, later also of Chinese bandits and smugglers.
The early phase of the activities of the Wokou began in 13. Century and extended into the 2. Half 14. Century. Japanese Piraten concentrated on the Korean peninsula and spread over the yellow sea to China. The second important phase lay in the early to middle 16. Century. In this time composition and guidance of the Woukou changed considerably. To its weddings into the 1550er years operated the Wokou in the seas of Eastern Asia and segelten even large river systems like that of the Yangtze upward.
The term "Wokou" is a combination of "where", to the Japanese refers and "kou" - "bandit" or "Brigant". "Where" a devaluing name for the Japanese meaning was "dwarf" and became from the Chinese at least since beginning of the 1. Millenium of our time uses. The earliest written source of the term "Wokou" is on a Stele, which was established by king Gwanggaeto of the realm Goguryeo in the year 414 in southern Manchuria.
The first noted Wokou Beutezug took place in the summer 1223 at the south coast of Goryeo. The Goryeosa reports that "Japanese (Piraten) attacked Gumju." Two smaller attacks are occupied in the year 1226, others took place sporadically over the next 4 decades.
Most the Wokou originated from the island Tsushima (mentioned by the Koreans "island Wae") and from the province Hizen. Under diplomatic pressure of the government of Goryeo the Kamakura Shogunat made efforts to hold seafaring military groups under control. 1227 read Muto Sukeyori, which the Piraterie suspicious one in presence of an envoy from Goryeo beheads representatives of the Shogunates in Kyushu, 90. 1263, after Woukou of Tsushima Ungjin Japanese negotiators the policy confirmed to limit the trade and forbid the Piraterie.
By the time of the Mongol invasions in Japan around decreased the activity of the Woukou, also because of the better military preparation on attacks in Goryeo.
They fastened 1251 Gumju and 1265 after the beginning from tribute relations to the Mongols the combatstrong armies (Sambyeolcho, into the southern provinces were shifted.
The Kamakura Shogunat again increased its influence in Kyushu and was better able to mobilize earlier Wokou groups against the threat of a Mongolian invasion.
When both the Kamakura Shogunate and the State of Goryeo purged in the years after the Mongol invasions, the Wokou became again active. 1323 took place for example a raid largely put on in the province Jeolla. Individual assaults like these developed itself to end 14. Century into militarily organized Piratenangriffe.
The Wokou took its activities 1350 to larger extent, favoured from the absence of a strong government power and the chaotic conditions in Japan. For the next half century they broke in particularly from the islands Iki and Tsushima out in the south half of Goryeo. The worst time were the years 1376 to 1385, when in Korea less than 174 were not noted. With some gangs were involved by up to 3000 Piraten, which penetrated deeply into the interior. They repeat the Korean capital Gaeseong and arrived occasionally north to at the delta of the Taedong and the area around They grain camps and kidnapped inhabitants as hostages and slaves. The problems caused by the Wokou contributed substantially to the case of the Goryeo Dynasty 1392. General Yi Seonggye, the founder of the Yi-dynasty, attained his meaning by his success against the Wokou.
Goryeos king U asked 1375 the Muromachi Shogunat for remedy and looked for co-operation with the governor of the Shogun (Tandai in Kyushu, Imagawa Ryoshun. 1377 were received cordially the large statesman Chong Mong Chu from Ryoshun. Several hundred prisoners of the Wokou were sent back after Goryeo. However Kyushu lay in the sphere of influence of the southern yard and despite all promises could neither the Shogunat nor the Tandai the Piraten as required to be suppressed. For example 1381 gave the Muromachi Shogunat an order, which forbade akuto (lawless ones) the provinces, after Goryeo to cross and "atrocities commit". 1389 and 1419 attacked the Koreans the Piratenbasen on Tsushima themselves, however to the retreat were forced, without much damage to have arranged.
The Wokou gangs were active also in China, where the first recordings come from Japanese Piraten from 1302. In the year 1358 and 1363 continued assaults again along the entire east coast, particularly however at the coast of the today's Shandong. For the end of the Yuan dynasty the threat began itself to strengthen by the Wokou. The first assault of the Wokou in the Ming dynasty happened 1369 in the province Zhejiang.
As answer to it emperor Hongwu sent its commanders out to establish over a number of attachments along the coast and sent two envoys to prince Kanenaga, the "general of the western pacification command" of the south yard in Kyushu. The first envoy, in the year 1369, threatened with an invasion of Japan, if the Wokou assaults were not stopped. Unbeeindruckt of it read prince Kaneyoshi the envoy of the Ming kill and refused fulfilling the demands. When the second envoy arrived 1370 and Japan threatened with hard restaurant sanctions, prince Kaneyoshi submitted the Ming as "a subject ". It sent in the following a legation to year to the emperor yard of the Ming in Nanjing, which led back more than 70 Chinese, who had been taken prisoner with Mingzhou (Ningbo) and Taizhou.
1392 created Yi Seonggye, which attained meaning because of its victory over the Piraten, Joseon, which Goryeo replaced as controlling power on the Korean peninsula. In the same year the conflict between the south yard and the north yard was solved in Japan by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
Catch Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng, the rulers of the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, established attachments on the coastal islands and contacted the Wokou. An influencing control of the Wokou with the rebellions of Hu Weiyong and Liu Xian appears possible.
For the Ming the Wokou was an important interior and affair with regard to foreign policy. The Ming strengthened the policy to forbid to the Chinese leaving the country and controlled the Japan trade by a Tributsystem. Both aimed at a monopolizing of the trade and the protection against Piraterie off.
Although the diplomatic initiatives of China and Korea were going by successful to reach co-operation with the Muromachi Shogunate they did not solve the problem of the Wokou.
The Wokou continued its assaults in China substantial until mindestenes 1419. In this year a large Piratenflotte of more than 30 ships met with Tsushima and moved to the north along the Korean coast of the yellow sea. Their course was observed, them before Wanghaiguo in Liaodong by a military commander of the province an ambush put and finally it to smash. Between 700 and 1500 Piraten are to have been killed. They kept themselves in the future from Liaodong, looked for sporadically however different regions of China home away.
In Korea the problem of the Wokou was repaired by actions by regional ruling powers in western Japan, who had affected the Koreans with concessions.
The 1550er and 1560er saw a reflashing of Wokou troubles. The period of their largest activity was during the Jiajing and Wanli epochs, which belonged also to the weakest governments of the Ming history. In the time of 1369 to 1466 the Wokou attacked 34 times Zhejiang, on the average every 3 years once. In the time of 1523 to 1588 they committed 66 assaults, thus each year once.
Existed contrary to the Wokou of earlier epochs the Piratenbanden in the center 16. Century no more prevailing from Japanese. Although "Wokou" continues to call, most of these bandits were now Chinese.
For Japanese Piraten the term often became bahan (or bafan). The word is written as bafan (Hachiman) or pofan ("rag gel"). After the Zhouhai Tubian were the provinces Satsuma, Higo and Nagato the most important breeding places of the Piraten. Also you came from the provinces Osumi, Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hakata, Hyuga, Settsu, Harima and from the island Tanegashima. Inhabitants of the provinces Buzen, Bungo and Izumi participated would occasionally also on attack, often if an opportunity were offered to participate at one in Satsuma organized to expedition to China.
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