Living in Japan in the year of 1274 through 1281 was pretty dangerous as a child. I remember the soldiers always heading to the beaches, on patrol and trying to keep our people safe. Father was one of those soldiers who would be the first one into battle, always ready to defend what he believed in. Through those seven years, Mother didn’t let us go anywhere near the shores, and usually kept us inside the house, where we were safe. None of this would’ve happened if the Mongols kept to their own country, and didn’t try to take over all of Asia.
I was only a child, around the age of seven, when the invasions started. Mother and Father told us children that the bad Mongols wanted our land, and we had to do everything in our power to stop them. I was too young to understand the full meaning of war, but I had a clue about it. On the days of the two invasions, one in 1274 and one in 1281, I vividly remember hiding in our home in the coast area. I can remember the battle cries of men, clashing of swords, and faint bombs. The sound of war wasn’t something that I wanted to listen to.
 |
| The Japanese Flag |
Kublai Khan was the leader of the Mongols attacks on our shores. On the day of the first attack, Father told me later in life, that there were more than four thousand ships bearing 140,000 men to attack our beaches. Now the Mongols had many advantages over us, but they weren’t the smartest. Whenever our men retreated the Mongols thought that we were going for more enforcement, which worried them and sent them to retreat too. This was their mistake, but then the power of nature helped as well. Some of their ships retreated by nightfall, but a terrible typhoon wiped them out. The ones who were still land bound survived.
We learned from the attack of the Mongols. To prevent any further attacks, we built two- metre walls. The construction was a long and difficult process. I remember sitting along the shore, watching the men build our giant shield. Thankfully there weren’t any attacks in the construction of the wall. The wall was finished within the year, and it gave me the feeling of security.
Seven years later, at the age of 14, they came to attack again. Our wall was still there to protect us from the enemy. For months they tried to find a place to land. They were exposed to the elements for a long period of time. No matter what they did they couldn’t defeat our great wall. We basically had them in the palm of ours hands. Our wall could only hold up for so long though, and if they ever destroyed it we would’ve surely lost.
Then the great Kamikaze, the name of a typhoon, came and destroyed them. Its powerful winds and waves crushed their ships, leaving the Mongols defeated. Some say it was luck brought upon us through the great winds, others say it was Mother Nature’s way of keeping balance throughout Asia. Whatever the reason the people of Japan were greatly thankful for it. Those are the days I’ll never forget.
