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Wakō Fleet

Type Object Region East Asia Time c. 1300–1588

Wakō were armed fleets active in East Asian waters from the 14th to 16th centuries, raiding Korea and China's southeast coast;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1336–1400Kyushu coast and Tsushima · TsushimaAmid Japan's Nanboku-chō civil wars and weak Muromachi shogunate control, Kyushu magnates and samurai organized armed fleets, living off smuggling and raiding the Korean Peninsula and Chinese coasts, forming the early wakō pattern.
  2. 1401–1410Waters from Korea's west coast to the Shandong Peninsula · West coast of the Korean PeninsulaBetween 1401 and 1410, wakō fleets still raided the Chungcheong and Jeolla coasts of Korea and the Ming seas off Shandong and Liaodong, prompting Korea to establish naval bases and beacon towers and the Ming to strengthen coastal guard patrols, while tributary envoys' ships required armed escorts.
  3. 1520–1588Southeast China coast · Southeast coastIn the 16th century wakō reached their largest scale, forming massive armed fleets in collusion with Chinese smugglers; after joint Ming-Korea-Ryukyu coastal defense during the Jiajing era, Japan's unification and maritime prohibition policies finally caused the traditional wakō fleets to gradually disintegrate.

Sources