Takashima Kōzaki Site: An Underwater Battlefield of the Mongol Invasions
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Japan
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Yuan
- Site type
- Military
On this page6 sections
History
Takashima Kōzaki Site is an underwater archaeological battlefield in Japan, offshore from Takashima in Matsuura, associated with the Mongol invasions during the Kamakura period, the era of samurai government conventionally dated from 1185 to 1333. Takashima lies at the mouth of Imari Bay between the Kita-Matsuura and Higashi-Matsuura peninsulas and was a principal battlefield during the 1274 invasion.
The Mongol Invasions
Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler who established the Yuan dynasty in China, directed the invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. During the second invasion, a typhoon caused extensive destruction to the Yuan and Goryeo allied fleet offshore from Takashima. The seabed around the island therefore preserves material connected with a conflict that involved military forces and diplomatic confrontation across East Asia.
Investigation and Protection
Fishermen had long recovered objects from the surrounding waters before archaeological investigations began in 1980. The Ministry of Education, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Takashima Town Board of Education, and researchers from the University of the Ryukyus undertook investigations to develop underwater archaeological methods and to conduct emergency surveys connected with harbor improvement. A site-discovery notification was submitted in July 1981. The surrounding seabed was then recognized as an area containing buried cultural properties, extending approximately 7.5 kilometers along Takashima’s southern coast from east to west and reaching about 200 meters offshore.
On October 24, 2011, a research team led by Eiji Ikeda of the University of the Ryukyus identified a shipwreck offshore from Takashima as a Yuan military vessel built in the Southern Song. The Southern Song ruled southern China until 1279, so a vessel constructed there could later have entered the Yuan military fleet. On March 27, 2012, the site became a National Historic Site of Japan. It was the first underwater archaeological site in Japan to receive that designation, recognizing its exceptional importance for understanding the military and diplomatic circumstances of the invasions. Matsuura City manages the site.
Remains
The site occupies approximately 384,000 square meters of seabed offshore from Takashima’s eastern coast in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture. Its underwater remains include battlefield objects and ship components recovered from the seabed, linking the physical site to the invasion-period fighting and the destruction of the fleet.
Battlefield Objects
Recovered material includes weapons and armor, arrows, swords, helmets, ceramics, vases, lacquerware, anchor stones, and other artifacts associated with the battlefield. Many of these objects are preserved at the Matsuura City Takashima History and Folk Museum.
Shipwreck Remains
Ship components recovered from the seabed include a keel approximately 12 meters long. Its length has been used to estimate that the associated vessel was about 20 meters long. The wreck has been identified as a Yuan military ship built in the Southern Song, providing physical evidence of the fleet involved in the Mongol invasions.
