Imjin War Begins

May 23, 1592

A hundred and sixty thousand Japanese troops under Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa landed at Busan and swept north through the Korean peninsula. The Joseon court fled Seoul within weeks. Hideyoshi's dream of conquering Ming China through Korea had gone violently into motion, and Korea paid the price. The invasion destroyed Korean temples and libraries and deported ceramic artisans whose expertise founded the Japanese porcelain industry at Arita.