Mongolia and Goryeo attacked the northern coast of Kyushu with 40,000 soldiers in 1274 to destroy Dazaifu, Japan’s local government office in Kyushu. They were successful in
landing in present time Fukuoka City though, Japan finally strived to repel them. But seven years after this invasion, Mongolia attacked Japan again with 150,000 soldiers. Japan’s central samurai government in Kamakura, at that time, deliberately took countermeasures against the second attack, strengthening the defense of northern Kyushu. Many army corps were dispatched to Kyushu from all over the country, as well as a stone wall 20 kilometers long and 2 meters high was built along the coast of present time Fukuoka City. On the other hand, Mongolia built a large naval base for the invasion along the coast of Seto-no-ura, Iki Island, which is 70 kilometers west of Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture. Japanese soldiers led by Shoni Tsunesuke, defense commissioner of Western Japan, counterattacked Mongolian troops there and destroyed their naval base. The battle continued for four days but Shoni Suketoki, the son of Shoni Tsunesuke, died in the battle. The first photo shows Seto-no-ura old battle field. The second one is the stacked tombstones of Shoni Suketoki commanding this field.
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