First Mongol invasion of Japan fails

November 19, 1274

A Yuan invasion fleet landed at Hakata Bay and fought the samurai of Kyushu to a standstill before retreating to their ships. That night a storm scattered the fleet across the Korea Strait. The defenders credited the gods of Ise and began calling the wind kamikaze. The divine wind entered Japanese mythology as proof of the islands' sacred inviolability, a belief that would shape Japanese identity for centuries.