1592 – 1598
Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 with an initial army recorded at roughly 158,700, seeking a route toward Ming China. Japanese forces rapidly captured Seoul and Pyongyang, while Korean naval operations, local resistance, Ming intervention, supply problems, and disease checked the advance. A second invasion began in 1597; Japanese forces withdrew after Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, leaving Korea devastated.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 with an initial army recorded at roughly 158,700, seeking a route toward Ming China. Japanese forces rapidly captured Seoul and Pyongyang, while Korean naval operations, local resistance, Ming intervention, supply problems, and disease checked the advance. A second invasion began in 1597; Japanese forces withdrew after Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, leaving Korea devastated.
The Imjin War was fought from 1592 to 1598.
The Imjin War was fought between Toyotomi Japan and Joseon Korea & Ming China.
An estimated 1,260,000 people died in The Imjin War, including roughly 260,000 military and 1,000,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included The Second Siege of Jinju, Siege of Ulsan, The Recapture of Pyongyang, and Battle of Noryang.