Like 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, just after unifying the Warring States period of Japan, the feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched a ruthless invasion of Korea, aiming to use it 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 profound disaster to the Korean people, while the Ming Dynasty of China, which sent troops to aid Korea at the request of the Joseon Dynasty, also sacrificed many of its finest sons and daughters. This war was called the "Bunroku-Keichō Campaign" by Japan and the "Imjin Wokryeok" by Korea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea was both a natural consequence of the lingering power of feudal lords who still held heavy armies and maintained semi-independent states after the temporary end of the Warring States period, as they urgently sought to export conflict to divert internal tensions, and the first large-scale overseas campaign by Japan to step out of its small island nation. To understand the root causes of this bloody and tragic chapter and to serve as a eternal warning, one must necessarily learn about Japan's Warring States period 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 lords, the rise of heroes, and constant warfare, along with the humanistic, military, and political arts it embodied in the chaos, shook later generations and will continue to cleanse their hearts and minds.