List of wars involving Japan

This is a list of wars involving Japan recorded in history.

List

This page lists wars between Japanese central or local forces and foreign forces, as well as wars between Japanese central and local forces. Wars that resulted in de facto regime change are also listed. Many battles between local daimyō (feudal lords) and clans that did not result in a de facto change of government are not included in the following list. Conflict Belligerents Results Jōmon period East Expedition of Emperor Jimmu(c. 7th century BCE, legendary) Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no Mikoto's clan Local chiefdoms Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no Mikoto victory Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no Mikoto becomes the legendary first Emperor (Emperor Jimmu) Mythical foundation of Japan Yayoi period Civil War of Wa(2nd century CE) Unknown Yayoi chiefdoms Unknown Yayoi chiefdoms Establishment of Yamatai state Consolidation of chiefdoms Himiko made queen Yamato period Goguryeo–Wa conflicts(391–404) BaekjeWaGaya GoguryeoSilla Goguryeo and Silla victoryIwai Rebellion(527–528)YamatoKyushu rebelsSillaYamato victory Soga–Mononobe conflict(587) Soga clan Mononobe clan Soga victory Buddhism spreads in Japan Mishihase War(658–660) YamatoEmishi Mishihase Victory Mishihase were possible recent settlers from Siberia Yamato and Emishi force defeat the Mishihase (Nihon Shoki) Location uncertain, possibly Hokkaido Baekje-Tang War(660–663) BaekjeYamato (at the Battle of Baekgang)Goguryeo TangSilla Tang-Silla coalition victory Annexation of Baekje by Unified Silla Baekje, the traditional ally of Yamato, ceases to exist, Yamato loses influence in Korea Jinshin War(672) Prince Ōama's forces Court of Ōmi Ōtsu Palace Ōama victory Prince Ōama (Emperor Tenmu) ascends to the throne and centralizes power Nara periodHayato rebellion(720–721)Imperial CourtHayatoImperial victory Imperial rule established over southern KyushuFujiwara no Hirotsugu rebellion(740)Forces loyal to Fujiwara no HirotsuguImperial CourtImperial victoryFujiwara no Nakamaro rebellion(764)Forces loyal to Fujiwara no NakamaroImperial forces loyal to Empress KōkenImperial victory Thirty-Eight Years' War(774–812) Yamato Emishi Imperial victory Sakanoue no Tamuramaro becomes shōgun Death of Aterui, Yamato control extends further into Tōhoku Heian period Tengyō no Ran(935–940) Imperial Government Provincial landowners Rebellion quelled Toi Invasion(1019) Jurchen pirates Daizaifu in Kyushu Victory Former Nine Years' War(1051–1062) Imperial Court Abe clan Imperial victory Later Three Year's War(1083–1089) Forces of Minamoto no YoshiieGovernor of Mutsu province Forces of various branches of Kiyohara clan Stalemate Hōgen rebellion(July 28 – August 16, 1156) Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Shirakawa Forces loyal to retired Emperor Sutoku Victory for Emperor Go-Shirakawa Establishment of Minamoto-Taira rivalry Heiji rebellion(January 19–February 5, 1160) Taira clan, forces loyal to Emperor Nijō, forces loyal to Emperor Go-Shirakawa Minamoto clan Taira victory Minamoto leaders banished Genpei War(1180–1185)

Miura clan Takeda clan Hōjō clan Chiba clan Taira clan

Minamoto clan victory Establishment of the Kamakura shogunateBattle of Ōshū(1189) Kamakura shogunate Northern FujiwaraShogunate victory Kamakura shogunate gains control of Tōhoku Kamakura period Jōkyū War(1221) Kamakura shogunate and allies Warrior families loyal to Go-Toba Shogunate victory Mongol invasions of Japan(1274, 1281) Kamakura shogunate Hōjō clan Sō clan Shōni clan Taira clan Kikuchi clan Ōtomo clan Shimazu clan Matsura clan Sashi clan

Yuan dynasty Goryeo Japanese victory Genkō War(1331–1333) Imperial forces loyal toEmperor Go-Daigo Ashikaga clan Kamakura Shogunate Imperial victory Fall of the Kamakura Shogunate Imperial rule restoredNanboku-chō Wars(1336 –1392) Ashikaga shogunate Northern Court Imperial forces loyal toEmperor Go-Daigo (1336) Nitta clan

Southern Court (1336–1392)Ashikaga victory Imperial rule under Emperor Go-Daigo overthrown (1336)

Establishment of the Ashikaga Shogunate and Northern Court Southern Court disestablished (1392) Muromachi period Ōei Invasion(1419) Tsushima Province Sō clan Joseon Victory Withdrawal of Korean armies from Tsushima세종실록 4권, 세종 1년 7월 3일 National Institute of Korean History.세종실록 4권, 세종 1년 7월 9일 National Institute of Korean History. 24 years after the invasion, the Treaty of Gyehae was signed and the number of wokou pirates gradually decreasedKoshamain's War(1457–1458)Kakizaki clanAinuVictory Japanese presence in Hokkaido solidified Ōnin War(1467–1477) Hosokawa clan Yamana clan Hosokawa clan victory Hosokawa clan gains control of the shogunate Ashikaga Yoshihisa assumes the post of shōgun Most of Kyoto destroyed Disintegration of the Ashikaga Shogunate, beginning of the Sengoku periodSengoku period(1477–1603)Numerous clans: Oda clan Toyotomi clan Tokugawa clan Takeda clan Mōri clan Uesugi clan Hojo clan Shimazu clan Date clan and othersTokugawa clan victory After more than a century of near constant civil war and unrest, Oda Nobunaga begins the unification of Japan Following Nobunaga's death, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi completes the unification (1590) and rules until his death in 1598 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats rival factions and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate (1603)Ikkō-ikkiVarious clans Oda clanSamurai victory Ikkō-ikki Buddhist leagues mostly destroyed by the Oda clan in the Ishiyama Hongan-ji campaignBattle of Fukuda Bay(1565) Matsura clan Kingdom of PortugalDefeat Azuchi–Momoyama period 1582 Cagayan battles(1582) Wokou (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean pirates) Spain New Spain Spanish Philippines Indian auxiliaries from Mexico (mostly Tlaxcalans) Defeat Bunroku-Keicho War/Imjin War(1592–1598) Japan Toyotomi clan Joseon KoreaMing China Defeat Withdrawal of Japanese armies from the Korean peninsula Battle of Sekigahara(1600) Eastern Army Forces loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu, clans of Eastern Japan Western Army Forces loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, many clans from Western Japan Eastern Army victory Tokugawa clan gains nominal control of all Japan Edo period Invasion of Ryukyu(1609) Satsuma Domain Satsuma victory The Ryukyu Kingdom becomes a Japanese vassal state Nossa Senhora da Graça incident(1610) Tokugawa shogunate Hizen-Arima clan Kingdom of Portugal Victory The expulsion of João Rodrigues Tçuzu and the loss of confidence in the Jesuits and Portugal by the Tokugawa shogunateSiege of Osaka(1614–1615) Tokugawa shogunate Toyotomi clanTokugawa victory Destruction of the Toyotomi Clan Shimabara Rebellion(1637–1638) Tokugawa shogunate Roman Catholics and rōnin rebels Victory National seclusion policy imposed Christianity driven undergroundShakushain's Revolt(1669–1672) Tokugawa shogunate Matsumae clanAinuVictory Ainu swear allegiance to Matsumae Japan consolidates its control of Hokkaido Bombardment of Kagoshima(1863) Satsuma Domain Defeat Kagoshima is bombarded by British Ships Satsuma makes payment of £25,000 to the British Shimonoseki Campaign(1863–1864) Chōshū Domain Defeat Chōshū pays an indemnity of $3,000,000Mito Rebellion(1864–1865)Tengutō rebels and local samurai Tokugawa shogunateTokugawa victory Summer War(1866) Chōshū Domain Tokugawa shogunate Aizu Domain Tokugawa defeat Choshu Victory Weakening of the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji period Boshin War(1868–1869) 1868

1869 1868 Jozai Domain Nagaoka Domain Sendai Domain Morioka Domain Kuwana Domain

Defected:

1869 Imperial victory End of the shogunate Restoration of imperial ruleShizoku Rebellions (Saga, Akizuki, Hagi, Shinpūren)(1874, 1876)Former samurai (shizoku) in Saga, Chōshū, Akizuki and Kumamoto Imperial victory Japanese invasion of Taiwan(1874) Paiwan Victory Occupation of Taiwan by Japan Battle of Ganghwa (1875) Korea Victory Severe damage inflicted on Korean defenses Treaty of Ganghwa Southwestern War (Satsuma Rebellion)(1877) Shizoku from Satsuma Domain Imperial victory Last major shizoku rebellion suppressed, effective end of the samurai as a privileged class Conscription system established in JapanTonghak Peasant Revolution(1894–1895) Korea Donghak Victory First Sino-Japanese War(1894–1895) Victory Korea removed from Chinese suzerainty Treaty of Shimonoseki Japanese invasion of Taiwan(1895) Formosa Victory Annexation of Formosa Boxer Rebellion(1899–1901)

Mutual Defence Pact of Southeast China Eight-Nation Alliance victory Rebellion suppressed Signing of the Boxer Protocol Provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing Russo-Japanese War(1904–1905) Victory Treaty of Portsmouth Russia cedes Guandong Leased Territory and South Sakhalin to Japan Battle of Namdaemun(1907) Victory Disbandment of the Imperial Korean Armed Forces Beipu uprising(1907) HakkaSaisiyat Victory Marked a new phase of armed Taiwanese resistance Taishō period Truku War(1914) Truku Victory Truku people dispersed across Taiwan Tapani incident(1915) Tai RepublicHan TaiwaneseTaiwanese aborigines Victory Gradual improvement of colonial administration in southern Taiwan World War I(1914–1918) United Kingdom

Hejaz China Victory End of the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Russian Empire Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East Transfer of German colonies and regions of the former Ottoman Empire to other powers Creation of the League of Nations Germany cedes Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory and South Seas Mandate to Japan Kiautschou Bay is returned to China in 1922 Occupation of Constantinople(1918–1923) Temporary occupation Temporary military occupation of Constantinople after World War I by the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Greece Japanese intervention in Siberia(1918–1922) White movement China Mongolia Russian SFSR Mongolian People's Party Defeat Shōwa period Jinan incident(1928) Kuomintang government Victory Occupation of Jinan by Japan Musha Incident(1930) TodaTruku (Taroko) Tkdaya Victory Uprising harshly suppressed Change in Japanese colonial strategy; increased effort to assimilate Taiwanese aborigines Japanese invasion of Manchuria(1931–1932) Victory Establishment of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo Pacification of Manchukuo(1931–1942) Victory Armed Chinese resistance in Manchuria mostly suppressed January 28 incident(1932) Stalemate China and Japan signs the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement Shanghai demilitarized Soviet–Japanese border conflicts(1932–1939) Manchukuo Korea Defeat Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact Operation Nekka(1933) Manchukuo Victory Tanggu Truce Second Sino-Japanese War(1937–1945)

Reorganized National Government Provisional Government Reformed Government East Hebei Defeat Merged into World War II Chinese victory as part of the Allied victory in the Pacific War Surrender of all Japanese forces in mainland China (excluding Manchuria), Formosa and French Indochina north of 16° north to China China becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council Resumption of the Chinese Civil War USS Panay incident(1937) Victory Japanese government officially apologises and pays $2,214,007.36 to the United States Straining of Japan–United States relations Invasion of French Indochina(1940) French Indochina Victory Japanese occupation of Northern French Indochina World War II(1941–1945) Slovakia Poland Defeat Fall of the Empire of Japan, Nazi Germany, and Kingdom of Italy Allied occupation of Japan and Germany Continuation of the Chinese Civil War Substantial weakening of European colonial powers, gradual decolonization of Asia (including the Indonesian National Revolution and the First Indochina War) Creation of the United Nations Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers Beginning of the Cold WarPacific War(1941–1945)

Defeat Allied victory End of World War II Fall of the Empire of Japan Continuation of the Chinese Civil War