The Mongol Empire ruled over an immense territory from present China and the Korean Peninsula to Eastern Europe longer than 100 years from the second half of the 13th century.
The Mongols, a warlike people on horseback, attempted to expand their sphere of influence all the way into Egypt after having conquered the countries of Eastern Europe by force. Around the same time, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson, decided to deprive Japan of the huge amount of gold which was mentioned in Marco Polo’s Book of Eastern Discoveries.
In 1274, about 30,000 Mongolian and present Korean allied soldiers on 800 warships attacked Japan’s two islands between Japan and Korea, massacring the inhabitants, and then landed from the northern coast of Kyushu. After the fierce battles between Japan’s samurai and the invaders in present Fukuoka City and its vicinity, Japan finally repelled them. However, Kublai Khan didn’t give up his ambition. In 1281, he attempted the second attack with 150,000 soldiers only to fail again in that Japan built a 20-kilometer-long stone wall, 2 meters high and 2 meters thick, along the coastline of present Fukuoka City light after the first attack, as shown in the photo. The invaders were reluctant to land on the beach because of this stone wall. Japanese samurai were shooting the arrows against the enemy from the back of this wall. This wall, called BORUI, still remains here and there along the old coast line of present Fukuoka City.
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