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  • Essay / Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Invasion and Its Impact on the Ming Dynasty in China

    Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion was one of the first major events in modern East Asia. The invasion had huge impacts on Japan as well as Korea, but also on China. The political impacts of Hideyoshi's invasion had a significant impact during this period. When we look at the changes in Japan and Korea, we have to look at the collapse of the government but also that of China. After the Imjin War, Choson Korea suffered a lot of damage and many lives were lost, but there was also heavy corruption in the government. The famine of 1597 showed that the Choson Korean government needed political change, that the government needed to prevent unrest by reforming, but with the collapse of the government and corruption within it, Korea was falling apart : say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “The entire state of Chosǒn was reeling from famine. Exhausted by the hard work of delivering military supplies, old people and children collapsed here and there. Those who had the strength to move became thieves, the rest of the population being killed by epidemics. Famine caused fathers and sons to kill each other for food, with husbands and wives killing each other. The bones of the dead were scattered in the streets like weeds. This excerpt shows that the Korean population was suffering greatly and turning to extremes to escape their misery, demonstrating that the government was not doing enough to prevent such anguish. Just as in Korea, in Ming Dynasty China, pressure had built up following Hiodeyoshi's invasion, allowing for numerous rebellions. However, Hideyoshi also adopted many measures to effect a stratification of society that would serve as the basis for the formation of a stable centralized government under his rule. There were disagreements with the Korean government, as the Koreans had failed to prepare for this outbreak of war and unlike Japan, Korea had no weapons. So, they needed help, which meant Ming Dynasty China came for military support. Ming Dynasty China did this initially by blocking Hideyoshi's Japanese troops, preventing them from advancing, which created the first truce. This had set a precedent that China should come to Korea's aid if there was any doubt about the war. However, Ming Dynasty China aided Korea due to diplomatic consequences, as the Koreans previously owed a debt to Ming China due to Korea's contribution of significant resources. Nevertheless, the conflict weakened Ming Dynasty China and later, in 1636, the Manchus attacked the Ming and caused their collapse. In Japan there were also hidden qualities of Japan's early modern regimes and it worked largely because of the land administrations, but the Japanese lacked a national police force, although it avoided being a potential target of political mobilizations until the 19th century. In the short term, Ming Dynasty China suffered from its collapse, but in the long term it benefited from the invasion, allowing it to find an ally for its future needs. Choson Korea, on the other hand, suffered greatly, causing distress to the people and the country, which allowed Hideyoshi to gain the upper hand. Although for Hideyoshi and Japan, the political impacts disrupted the first planned invasion due to the alliance of the..