Gunpowder bombs off Japan: the Mongol invasions

Kublai Khan's fleets attacked Japan in 1274 and 1281; the Yuan troops threw exploding gunpowder shells, and a hollow ceramic bomb from the 1281 fleet recovered off Takashima was found by CT scan to hold metal and ceramic shrapnel. The bomb bursting in the samurai Takezaki Suenaga's picture scroll of the war was probably added in the 18th century, though written and archaeological evidence confirms the weapon. Both invasions failed, the second when a typhoon struck the fleet.

The mechanism

A TECHNOLOGY THAT TURNS THE BOARD

How it was checked

• EvidenceT5 INDEPENDENT SECULAR; Status: ADDED 2026-09-19
• Letter eraTHE CAPTURE 313 to 1302
• SourcesRECORD — Nippon.com, 'The Battle of Bun'ei: The First Mongol Invasion of Japan'; Nippon.com, 'Ships on the Seabed: Searching for the Mongol Empire's Lost Invasion Fleet'; Wikipedia, 'Takashima Kōzaki Site' (National Historic Site, 2012) · checked 19 September: Giuseppina Aurora Testa, 'Moko shurai ekotoba (Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasions)', Eikon Imago 15 (2020): 35-57, PDF (peer-reviewed; cites Conlan); Nippon.com, 'The Battle of Bun'ei' (the row's source; CT scan); Wikipedia, 'Mongol invasions of Japan' (Conlan on the scroll; 1281 typhoon)