《32》Medieval Hakata - The Genko and the Crisis of Hakata (Part 3)...The Mystery of the Genko's Defeat
-One of the biggest mysteries of the battle of Genko is whether or not there really was a "kamikaze". The debate is divided between those who believe that there were kamikazes, whether large or small, and those who believe that a typhoon could not have occurred on November 21 of the new calendar year during the Battle of Bunei.
-The battle of Koan fell on the day before the 210th day of the new calendar, and it is considered almost certain that a typhoon hit the area. Furthermore, since the Yuan were originally a cavalry tribe, they had no experience in fighting across the sea, and it is possible that there were various incidents such as people falling ill on board.
- In any case, what would have been the fate of medieval Hakata if the entire Yuan army had landed? It seems to be a certain fact that fortune was on the side of the city, which was on the verge of destruction. At the same time, however, there are still many mysteries to be solved, such as why Yuan's army stopped attacking for a while during the battle of Koan, and why it left Hakata Bay and stayed in a remote area called Takashima in northwestern Kyushu for about one month.
*The photo shows Takashima, where the Yuan army stayed. (Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture) /
中世博多-元寇と博多の危機（その３）…元軍敗退のミステリー
- 元寇の戦いで一番のミステリーは本当に“神風”が吹いたかどうかという点です。大きさはどうあれ神風は吹いたとか、文永の役の新暦11月21日頃に台風はあり得ないとか、議論は賛否それぞれ分かれています。
- 弘安の役のときは新暦の２１０日の前日に当たり、台風が直撃したことはほぼ間違いないと考えられています。さらに元はもともと騎馬民族ゆえに海上を渡って戦う経験がなく、船内で病人が出るなどさまざまなアクシデントも考えられます。
- いずれにせよ、元の全軍が上陸していたら、中世博多の運命はどうなっていたでしょうか。滅亡と紙一重の幸運が味方したのは確かな事実のようです。しかし一方で、弘安の役のときに元軍はしばらく攻撃を中断し、博多湾を離れて九州西北部の鷹島という辺地になぜ約1力月もとどまっていたのかなど、まだまだ謎は多く残されています。