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*''Japanese'': 倭寇 ''(wakou)''
*''Japanese'': 倭寇 ''(wakou)''
The ''wakô'' were raiders, pirates, or brigands active in East Asian waters in the [[Muromachi period|Muromachi]] to early [[Edo period]]s. The term might be literally translated as "Japanese pirates," the ''wa'' (倭) denoting Japan, but many ''wakô'' were in fact Chinese.<ref name=arano186>Arano. p186.</ref>
The ''wakô'' were raiders, pirates, or brigands active in East Asian waters in the [[Kamakura period|Kamakura]] to early [[Edo period]]s, the phenomenon peaking in the 16th century (the late [[Muromachi period|Muromachi]] or [[Sengoku period]]). The term might be literally translated as "Japanese pirates," the ''wa'' (倭) denoting Japan, but many ''wakô'' were in fact Chinese.<ref name=arano186>Arano. p186.</ref>
==Terminology==
The issue of terminology is thus quite central to discussion of the ''wakô''. The question arises as to why Chinese and Korean authorities, and the official records they produced, employed the term when, arguably, in many cases, that being described was either not Japanese, or not a band of pirates. Yet, as with many historical terms, the issue is complicated by the fact that officials, historically, had no intention, and made no conscious effort, to employ the term in a consistent manner. Rather, the term was often used, or avoided, for explicit political purposes - such as to attack or protect certain parties or interests; its usage also varied from individual to individual, from case to case, and from time to time.<ref name=so209>So. p209.</ref>
Nevertheless, in aggregate, an image emerges of Chinese and Korean use of the term ''wakô'', or "Japanese pirates," to refer not only to Japanese raiders, brigands and the like, but also to raiders and brigands of a number of other ethnicities (mainly Chinese), to smugglers and traders less involved in violent or predatory activity, and to the formal samurai invasion forces of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]].
==Early Wakô==
During the reign of the first emperor of [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]], great efforts were made to establish coastal fortifications to defend against the so-called "Japanese pirates." However, raids and attacks on the Chinese coast at this time were led primarily not by Japanese, but by the Emperor's Chinese political rivals.<ref name=so209/>
==Wakô in the 16th Century==
==Wakô in the 16th Century==
Though relations between [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] [[China]] and the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] were quite good for a time, with merchants from both countries engaging in official trade, by the early 16th century, tensions arose between the two powers. The increasingly weak shogunate did not wield strong control throughout Japan, let alone overseas, and was unable to curb or halt the attacks by Japanese pirates, acting independently, upon the Chinese coast.<ref name=so204>So. p204.</ref> By the 1530s, Sengoku (i.e. civil war in many parts of Japan) was in full swing, the shogunate held little power, and relations with China had fully soured.
Though relations between Ming [[China]] and the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] were quite good for a time, with merchants from both countries engaging in official trade, by the early 16th century, tensions arose between the two powers. The increasingly weak shogunate did not wield strong control throughout Japan, let alone overseas, and was unable to curb or halt the attacks by Japanese pirates, acting independently, upon the Chinese coast.<ref name=so204>So. p204.</ref> By the 1530s, Sengoku (i.e. civil war in many parts of Japan) was in full swing, the shogunate held little power, and relations with China had fully soured.
''Wakô'' raiding parties burned Ningpo in [[1523]], traveled up the Yangtze and attacked cities along its shores in [[1552]], and attacked Nanjing and Chaozhou in [[1555]]. In [[1563]], Chinese military forces expelled a number of ''wakô'' from Fujian.<ref name=so204/>
''Wakô'' raiding parties burned Ningpo in [[1523]], traveled up the Yangtze and attacked cities along its shores in [[1552]], and attacked Nanjing and Chaozhou in [[1555]]. In [[1563]], Chinese military forces expelled a number of ''wakô'' from Fujian.<ref name=so204/>
