Kampfwagen
Junior Member
Hey there. Before you ask, yes, I did see the new Pirates of the Carribeian movie, and yes, this has made me go Pirate-Crazy (Though Pirates have always been an intrest of mine) and in doing so, I discovered this most intresting group of people.
The word Wokou is Chinese (Not sure which sort of Chinese, but if any language experts read this, you are welcome to help) for 'Japanese Bandit', though the Wokou were Pirates in every sense of the word. Like the Pirates of the Atlantic ocean, the Wokou were made of a very diverse group of individuals. Primarily Chinese (despite what the word says) They were also made of Japanese, Korean and more exotic ethnicities like the Portugese. The vast majority were Chinese Militia-men, Merchants and Smugglers, also included Japanese Ronin and even Christian Missionaries. It should be noted that, in many ways, the 'Japanese' pirates were more along the lines of Chinese Pirates, as the use of the term 'Japanese' is only in refrence to the first raids, where they were predominatly Japanese.
Those first raids began in the 13th century, with a pirate raid in Korea. The only mention of this is the sentence "Japanese (pirates) attacked Gumjiu". This was the begining of the first boom in piracy in Chinese-Japanese-Korean waters. However, a decline was eventualy seen as the Mongols began invading Japan, prompting Korea and other nations of similar geography, to fortify themselves for a planned attack. However, the pirate activity began with a boom once again in 1350.
Wokou are generaly considered to be the cause of the downfall of the Goryeo dynasty in a way similar to how the Visigoths sacked Rome. At the Pirate Boom of 1350 and onwards, the Wokou were more brazen with their attacks, routinely attacking such far inland targets as the capitol city of Gaeseong, and even going as so far as the general area of modern Pongyang. They did pave the way for the Joseon Dynasty, who's founder ironicaly enough came to his position through his successful campagins against the Wokou.
The Pirate's main port for the first part of the Wokou attacks was the small island of Tushima, just off the North-West coast of Kyushu. The Pirate bases here were often attacked by Korean or Chinese naval forces, but almost always resurfaced in later months/years. They also got largely inefective scoldings from the govenor.
Piracy went on in these waters for almost two hundred years afterword, Raiding China and Korea untill finaly stemmed in the late 16th century. This was due to a combination of loosened shipping laws and Toyotomi Hedeyoshi's anti-everything policy of stopping anyone with the ability to rise in armed conflict against the head Damyo (loosing major supliers of weapons).
Unfortunately, all I could find on the Wokou was historical information in the chronological sense. This gives no ideas to possible codes of honor or procedure on these ships, techniques used in raiding ships and other fine details. If anyone can enlighten me on this, please do so.
The word Wokou is Chinese (Not sure which sort of Chinese, but if any language experts read this, you are welcome to help) for 'Japanese Bandit', though the Wokou were Pirates in every sense of the word. Like the Pirates of the Atlantic ocean, the Wokou were made of a very diverse group of individuals. Primarily Chinese (despite what the word says) They were also made of Japanese, Korean and more exotic ethnicities like the Portugese. The vast majority were Chinese Militia-men, Merchants and Smugglers, also included Japanese Ronin and even Christian Missionaries. It should be noted that, in many ways, the 'Japanese' pirates were more along the lines of Chinese Pirates, as the use of the term 'Japanese' is only in refrence to the first raids, where they were predominatly Japanese.
Those first raids began in the 13th century, with a pirate raid in Korea. The only mention of this is the sentence "Japanese (pirates) attacked Gumjiu". This was the begining of the first boom in piracy in Chinese-Japanese-Korean waters. However, a decline was eventualy seen as the Mongols began invading Japan, prompting Korea and other nations of similar geography, to fortify themselves for a planned attack. However, the pirate activity began with a boom once again in 1350.
Wokou are generaly considered to be the cause of the downfall of the Goryeo dynasty in a way similar to how the Visigoths sacked Rome. At the Pirate Boom of 1350 and onwards, the Wokou were more brazen with their attacks, routinely attacking such far inland targets as the capitol city of Gaeseong, and even going as so far as the general area of modern Pongyang. They did pave the way for the Joseon Dynasty, who's founder ironicaly enough came to his position through his successful campagins against the Wokou.
The Pirate's main port for the first part of the Wokou attacks was the small island of Tushima, just off the North-West coast of Kyushu. The Pirate bases here were often attacked by Korean or Chinese naval forces, but almost always resurfaced in later months/years. They also got largely inefective scoldings from the govenor.
Piracy went on in these waters for almost two hundred years afterword, Raiding China and Korea untill finaly stemmed in the late 16th century. This was due to a combination of loosened shipping laws and Toyotomi Hedeyoshi's anti-everything policy of stopping anyone with the ability to rise in armed conflict against the head Damyo (loosing major supliers of weapons).
Unfortunately, all I could find on the Wokou was historical information in the chronological sense. This gives no ideas to possible codes of honor or procedure on these ships, techniques used in raiding ships and other fine details. If anyone can enlighten me on this, please do so.
