Fukuoka

These Metal Days

Kublai Khan attacked on Fukuoka Prefecture in 1281, mobilizing 140,000 soldiers and 4,000 ships. The Japanese defenders, numbering around 40,000, were no match for the Mongols and the invasion force made it as far as Dazaifu, 15 kilometers south of the city of Fukuoka. However, the Japanese were aided by a typhoon which struck a crushing blow to the Mongolian troops, and the invasion was thwarted.

It was this typhoon that came to be called the Kamikaze (Divine Wind).