Japanese Invasion of Korea (1592-1598)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched the Imjin War with 160,000 troops invading Korea in April 1592. Japanese Shinto-Buddhist rhetoric portrayed Japan as a divine land with cultural superiority. The ultimate goal aimed at conquering Ming China through the Korean peninsula. Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s innovative “turtle ships” helped Korean forces resist the invasions. Religious justifications masked straightforward territorial ambitions.
