Wokou

W?kòu (Chinese: ??; Japanese pronunciation: wak?; Korean pronunciation: ?? waegu) were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century onwards. They were comprised largely of Japanese soldiers, ronin and merchants, and later also of Chinese bandits and smugglers.

Ming Dynasty tribute system

In 1392, Yi Seonggye(who had become famous from defeating these pirates) founded Joseon, supplanting the Goryeo regime on the Korean peninsula. In the same year, the conflict between the Southern and Northern courts in Japan was finally resolved under the auspices of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Related Topics:
1392 - Joseon - Goryeo - Ashikaga Yoshimitsu

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Fang Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng, who held sway in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, established bases on the coastal islands. They linked up with the Wokou. There may also have been some Wokou involvement in the rebellion of Hu Weiyong and Liu Xian.

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For the Ming, the Wokou were not simply a foreign concern. The Ming reinfoced the policy forbidding Chinese to go overseas and controlled trade with Japan through the tribute system, both policies aided at monopolising trade and protecting against piracy.

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Though diplomatic initiatives brought by China and Korea were successful in gaining the cooperation of the Muromachi bakufu at its height, it did not put down the Wokou.

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They went on raiding China in force until at least 1419. In that year, a large pirate fleet of more than thirty saill assembled in Tsushima and headed north along Korea's Yellow Sea coast. Kept under observation, it was finally ambushed and smashed off Wanghaiguo in Liaodong by a provincial military commander, who was said to have taken between 700 and 1500 heads. After that, the Wokou steered clear of Liaodong, though they hit other areas of China sporadically.

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In Korea, the Wokou were stemmed by action from regional notables of western Japan, whom the Koreans influenced with concessions.

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