Gempei wars 1180 – 1185

By the 1170s two warrior families, the Minamoto (also called the Genji）and the Taira (also called the Heike or Heism)，had emerged as the most powerful of the warrior clans. The Genji were based in the eastern provinces of Honshu, and the Heike landholdings were concentrated in western Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

The Taira clan (originally a provincial military house) descended from a prince who had been reduced to commoner status in the practice of dynastic shedding common throughout Japan’s classical age. In this case, the prince was a son of the Sovereign Kanmu (r. 781-806), and he was given the surname “Taira”; his descendants are referred to as the Kanmu Heike.

The Minamoto similarly originated with the son of a sovereign—in this case Sovereign Seiwa (r.858-76). They are known consequently as the “Seiwa Genji.” In both cases, the sloughed-off princes were given provincial holdings, in effect removing them from the upper aristocracy that held central governmental positions in the capital.

Rivalry between the two families and their retainers erupted into a full scale civil war in 1180. The Gempei War, which lasted from 1180 until 1185, is the most celebrated of all the encounters fought between samurai. It was the consummation of the samurai ideal, a fight to the death between two entire clans. In its time the Gempei War price a handful of the greatest samurai heroes Japan has ever seen.

The Gempei War was fought between the Taira and the Minamoto clans, with many other allied families joining in.

The winning side, the Minamoto, established itself as the de facto political authority in the country and consolidated landholdings and civil power at the expense of the upper aristocracy, while the losing side, the Taira, were effectively destroyed as an independent political force.
Gempei wars 1180 – 1185

Battle of the Java Sea (February 27, 1942)

Java Sea was the site of a battle between Japanese forces en route to Java and remnants of the Allied fleet in the Netherlands East Indies. In January 1942, the Allied defense of the southwest Pacific was collectively organized in the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA Command).

By February 1942 Japanese pans for the invasion the Dutch East Indies island of Java were well advance; and Allied naval units based at Surabaya were the only real obstacle. On February 24, two Japanese invasion forces set sail for Java. Rear Admiral Takagi Takeo commanded a force of 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 14 destroyers covering 41 transports.

Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman commanded the ABDA striking force of 2 heavy cruisers, 23 light cruisers and 9 destroyers, representing all four ABDA nations, but had no air support.

On the afternoon of February 27 1942, at 2.27pm Doorman was notified of the approach of an invasion force some 80 miles northeast of Surabaya in the Makassar Straits.

At 4.16 pm the Japanese opened the battle. Soon thereafter, the heavy cruisers USS Houston - its aft turret inoperable from earlier battle damage – and HMS Exeter returned fire. During torpedo attack by Japanese, The Exeter later was damaged before finally being cornered and sunk by the Japanese.

An Allied counterattack resulted in the loss of two more ships - the Eletcra and the Kortenear – and Doorman was forced to turn south to regroup.

Doorman went down with his flagship De Ruyter. Japanese forces suffered only minor damage. Surviving Allied ships attempted to flee, but most were hunted down and sunk in separate air and sea engagements over the next few days.

In the battle of the Java Sea, the Allies lost two light cruisers and three destroyers. Three cruisers and six destroyers (four US) survived. Four American destroyers reached safely in Australia. With the Allied forces swept from the sea, the Japanese landed on Java after one-day delay and the island fell on 8 March with almost 100,000 Allied troops taken captive.
Battle of the Java Sea (February 27, 1942)

Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592

In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had decided to conquer Korea on the road to conquering China. The invasion of Korea took place in May 1592 and involved an uninterrupted crossing of the sea via the islands of Iki and Tsushima.

The initial Japanese force under Konishi Yukinaga and So Yoshitoshi landed at Pusan in some 700 ships on May 23, 1592. The first shots of the campaign were fired against the fortress guarding the harbor of Pusan.

There were supposedly 2, Korean troops stationed at Pusan. Chong Pal, the Korean commander, came under forth to fight, but fearing his forces would be cut off, he effected a retreat to the city. Pusan fall under Japanese by 24 May 1592.

In June 10, 1592 Japanese army reaches at Seoul and every Korean army sent to stop them was soundly defeated. Japanese later capture Pyongyang on 24th July.

However, intervention by Chinese military forces, Seoul was liberated on 19 May 1593. By autumn of 1593 their invading armies had evacuated Korea, leaving behind a handful of garrisons to ‘occupy’ their remaining toehold on Korea’s south post.

In 1597 Japanese sent in forces in strength again to Korea. It was only in 1598, after a long series of negotiation that Japanese withdrew from the Peninsula.
Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592