As if in a dream　[The Chrysanthemum and the Sword] in the Warring States period of Japan

Author: Chi Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the feudal lord who had just unified Japan's Warring States period, launched a brutal invasion of Korea, aiming to use the peninsula as a springboard to attack China. The war lasted until 1598. Due to the heroic resistance of the Chinese and Korean people, the Japanese suffered heavy losses, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi died of grief and frustration, ordering the entire army to retreat. The war brought immense suffering to the Korean people, while the Ming Dynasty of China, which intervened at the request of the Joseon Dynasty, also sacrificed many of its finest sons and daughters. This war was called the "Bunroku and Keichō Campaign" by Japan and the "Imjin War" by Korea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea was both a natural outcome of the lingering power struggles among feudal lords who still held vast armies and remained semi-independent after the temporary end of the Warring States period, as they sought to divert internal conflicts through foreign wars, and the first large-scale overseas expedition by Japan beyond its small island nation. To understand the root causes of this brutal chapter and to serve as a eternal warning, one must examine the Warring States period of Japan in the 15th and 16th centuries—this book provides a detailed account of that special era. The history of the Warring States period, marked by the division of the land among feudal lords and the constant warfare, along with the various forms of art—humanistic, military, political, and more—that emerged from the chaos—shocked later generations and will continue to cleanse their hearts.