Case file · Apparition / miracle
The 'divine wind' of 1281
A typhoon destroyed much of the Mongol invasion fleet off Hakata Bay in August 1281, seven years after a storm had also hit the first invasion.
1281 CE · 33.62, 130.38 · status: explained
The account
Temples and shrines across Japan had been praying for protection, and the storms were credited to the gods as kamikaze, the 'divine wind'. The idea fed a belief that Japan was a land of the gods, later used in wartime propaganda.
The sceptical view
Late summer typhoons are common in the area; underwater archaeology off Takashima found hastily built ships, which may explain why so many sank.