Korea launched by the dictator Toyotomi Hideyoshi are unique in
Japanese history for being the only time that the samurai assaulted a
foreign country. Hideyoshi planned to invade and conquer China, ruled
at the time by the Ming dynasty, and when the Korean court refused to
allow his troops to cross their country, Korea became the first step in
this ambitious plan of conquest. In 1592 a huge invasion force of
150,000 men landed at the ports of Busan and Tadaejin under the
commanders Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa. These two Japanese
divisions rapidly overran their Korean counterparts, taking the
principal cities of Seoul and then Pyongyang and driving the remnants
of the Korean Army into China. The Japanese division under Kato
Kiyomasa even started to advance into Manchuria. However, the Korean
strength was in their navy and the vital Korean naval victory of
Hansando disrupted the flow of supplies to the invasion forces, forcing
them to hold their positions around Pyongyang. In 1593, the Chinese
invaded capturing Pyongyang from the Japanese and driving them
southwards. This phase of the war ended in a truce, with the Japanese
forces withdrawing into enclaves around the southern port of Busan
while the Ming armies largely withdrew to China. In 1597, following the
breakdown in negotiations, the Japanese invaded again with a force of
140,000 men. However, the Chinese and Koreans were now better prepared
and the advance came to a halt south of Seoul, and then forced the
Japanese southwards. In November 1598 Hideyoshi died, and with him the
enthusiasm for the military adventure. The Japanese council of regents
ordered the withdrawal of the remaining forces, and the naval battle of
Noryang, which saw the Japanese fleet annihilated by the Korean admiral
Yi-Sunshin, proved to be the last significant act of the conflict.