Editing Samurai (section)

=== Mongol invasions ===
<gallery class="center" widths="305" heights="150">
File:Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba e2.jpg|Samurai of the [[Shōni clan]] gather to defend against [[Kublai Khan]]'s Mongolian army during the first [[Mongol invasions of Japan#First invasion (1274)|Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274]].
File:Battle of Yashima Folding Screens Kano School.jpg|[[Battle of Yashima]] folding screens
</gallery>
{{See also|Mongol invasions of Japan}}
Various samurai clans struggled for power during the [[Kamakura shogunate]]. [[Zen Buddhism]] spread among the samurai in the 13th century and helped shape their standards of conduct, particularly in overcoming the fear of death and killing. Among the general populace [[Pure Land Buddhism]] was favored however.

In 1274, the Mongol-founded [[Yuan dynasty]] in China sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern [[Kyūshū]]. Japan mustered a mere 10,000 samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. The Yuan army was eventually recalled, and the invasion was called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gunpowder in Japan.
[[File:Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba Mongol Invasion Takezaki Suenaga 2 Page 5-7.jpg|center|thumb|upright=3|Samurai [[Takezaki Suenaga]] of the [[Hōjō clan]] (right) assaults the Mongolian and Korean invasion army (left) at the [[Battle of Bun'ei#Battle of Torikai-Gata - Japanese victory|Battle of Torikai-Gata]], 1274.]]

The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion and began construction of a [[Genko Borui|great stone barrier]] around [[Hakata Bay]] in 1276. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the bay. It later served as a strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed.

Leading up to the second Mongolian invasion, [[Kublai Khan]] continued to send emissaries to Japan, with five diplomats sent in September 1275 to Kyūshū. [[Hōjō Tokimune]], the [[shikken]] of the Kamakura shogun, responded by having the Mongolian diplomats brought to Kamakura and then beheading them.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/japanitshistory00reedgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/japanitshistory00reedgoog/page/n361 291] |quote=tokimune behead. |title=Japan: Its History, Traditions, and Religions: With the Narrative of a Visit in 1879 |first=Sir Edward James |last=Reed |date=17 April 1880 |publisher=J. Murray |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The graves of the five executed Mongol emissaries exist to this day in Kamakura at Tatsunokuchi.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kamakura-burabura.com/meisyoenosimajyourituji.htm |title=常立寺|website=www.kamakura-burabura.com}}</ref> On 29 July 1279, five more emissaries were sent by the Mongol empire, and again beheaded, this time in [[Hakata-ku, Fukuoka|Hakata]]. This continued defiance of the Mongol emperor set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history.

In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 5,000 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again being defeated.
{{Wide image|Takezaki suenaga ekotoba bourui.jpg|1000px|Samurai and defensive wall at [[Hakata-ku, Fukuoka|Hakata]] defending against the Second Mongolian Invasion. Moko Shurai Ekotoba, (蒙古襲来絵詞) {{circa|1293}}|center}}

[[File:Takezaki suenaga ekotoba3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Samurai boarding ships of the [[Mongol invasions of Japan#Second invasion (1281)|Second Mongolian invasion fleet]], killing the Mongolian soldiers aboard, 1281]]
The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the samurai defenders of Japan repel the Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as ''kami-no-Kaze'', which literally translates as "wind of the gods".<ref>{{cite web|date=2017-04-26|title=Formative Memory: The Thirteenth-Century Mongolian Invasions and Their Impact on Japan|url=https://kyotojournal.org/uncategorized/formative-memory-the-thirteenth-century-mongolian-invasions-and-their-impact-on-japan/|access-date=2020-10-25|website=Kyoto Journal|language=en-US}}</ref> This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind". The ''kami-no-Kaze'' lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection.