Japan's Wars - List of Conflicts

In this article, we list and briefly summarize the wars Japan has been involved in, from civil wars to conflicts with other nations. This is a handy overview of Japan's war history.

The purpose of this article is simply to list the battles in which Japan was involved. We will not go into detail on each one. You can look them up separately on our website or on the internet.

Civil Wars of Japan

It is even a bit difficult to cover all of Japan's civil wars because, throughout much of its history, the country was caught in wars between the provinces. Fortunately, many of those conflicts were recorded, and we can list them here.

The first recorded war in Japan took place in the seventh century before Christ. It was an expedition carried out by the Emperor Jimmu against troops led by local tribes. This conflict is often linked to Japan's foundation myth.

The second recorded conflict in Japan was the Wa Civil War, which helped establish Yamatai, consolidate leadership, and crown Himiko as queen, bringing peace to Japan around the year 180.

After the Jomon period came the Yamato Period, and one of the early conflicts was the expedition led by Empress Jingu in the third century. Soon after, between 391 and 404, conflicts known as Goguryeo-wa occurred.

Between 658 and 660, a war took place between an ancient people called Mishihase and the Yamato State (Japan). In 675, the Jinshin War broke out over the succession of Japan after the death of Emperor Tenji.

Between 770 and 811, the Thirty-Eight Year War was fought against a group called the Emishi. Between 1180 and 1185, the great Genpei War took place, involving the Minamoto and Taira clans. In 1221, the Jokyu War broke out between the Kamakura Shogunate and a Retired Emperor.

Many other wars occurred, such as the Boshin War (1868-1869), along with many battles fought between Japanese clans and Emperors. At the end of the article, we include a full list of those conflicts.

Conflicts involving Japan and the world

Below is a list of conflicts that Japan has been involved in throughout its history with other nations and countries. Japan officially entered conflicts 11 times with other nations, mostly with neighboring countries.

Of all the wars listed below, Japan only had two victories: the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. Japan's participation in the First World War was also quite small.

Date	Conflict	Defeated	Victorious
1592-1598	Imjin War	Japan	Korea and China
1904-1905	Russo-Japanese War	Russian Empire	Empire of Japan
1917–1918	First World War	Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria	France and allies (Japan)
1918–1920	Russian Civil War	White Movement (+Japan)	Soviet Russia and the Far Eastern Republic
1932-1939	Border conflicts between the Soviet Union and Japan	Empire of Japan	Soviet Union and Mongolia
1937-1945	Second Sino-Japanese War	Empire of Japan	Republic of China
1939–1945	Second World War	Germany, Japan, and allies	Soviet Union, United States, and allies
1945	Soviet-Japanese War	Empire of Japan	Soviet Union
1945	Operation August Storm	Empire of Japan	Soviet Union
1945	Invasion of Southern Sakhalin	Empire of Japan	Soviet Union
1945	Invasion of the Kuril Islands	Empire of Japan	Soviet Union

There is more to the story. Although I have already mentioned the wars in which Japan had a strong role, there are some additional conflicts we can list where Japan was involved even without sending troops or taking direct action.

Other military involvements of Japan

Japan was involved in the Baekje-Tang War alongside Baekje and Goguryeo against Tang and Silla from 660 to 663 on the Korean peninsulas. From 1637 to 1638, the Shimabara Rebellion took place against Roman Catholics and ronin rebels.

The first major international war Japan was involved in was against the Mongol Empire, which involved China and Korea. The Mongol Invasions of Japan took place between 1274 and 1281 and involved an alliance of the Imperial Court and some clans.

In 1419, the Oei Invasion took place between the Ashikaga Shogunate and Korea in the Tsushima province. Japan won and expelled the Koreans who invaded the province. Japan attempted to invade Korea between 1592 and 1598 but without success.

Between 1863 and 1864, the Shimonoseki Campaign took place between the Choushu Domain and the British Empire, ending in defeat and forcing Choushu to pay compensation.

Japan fought the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894 and 1895 against China. Soon after, in 1895, the Japanese Invasion of Taiwan against the Republic of Formosa took place, and Japan emerged victorious.

Between 1899 and 1901, the Boxer Rebellion took place in China against Japan, Russia, and their allies. Ironically, the war between Japan and Russia followed shortly after in the Hokkaido region.

In 1931 and 1932, the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria took place against China and ended in a truce. In 1940, Japan had a conflict with France in French Indochina.

Right at the end of World War II, Japan was involved along with France in the Operation Masterdom (1945-1946) against Vietnam, which resulted in the restoration of French rule in Indochina and helped trigger another war.

A small confrontation occurred in 2001 against North Korea called the Battle of Amami-Oshima. The confrontation lasted about six hours and ended with the sinking of the North Korean naval trawler. Victory for Japan!

Japan also got involved in the Iraq War, which occurred between 2003 and 2011. Its involvement was almost negligible, to the point that it is hardly mentioned as a participant. Japan was on the winning side!

Japan participated in the OCEAN SHIELD operation organized by NATO, which took place between 2009 and 2016. Its objective was to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa. The number of pirates was drastically reduced.

What did you think of all Japan's wars?

Complete list of Japan's battles

Below we provide a complete list of all the battles and conflicts that occurred in Japan or involved Japan and earlier states. The list shows the name of each battle followed by the date it occurred and sometimes the Japanese name.

Some wars may not be listed below because they have already been mentioned earlier in the article in the section on international conflicts involving Japan. I will highlight the main conflicts or the wars that led to other battles in bold.

Keep in mind that the list below includes all the battles involving Japan. A battle may be part of a war that was mentioned a little earlier. If there is no date in the battle name, it was probably a small battle that formed part of a larger war.

• Expedition of Emperor Jinmu (c.7th Century BCE) [神武東征]
• Takehaniyasuhiko Rebellion (c.1st Century BCE) [武埴安彦命]
• Expedition of Yamato Takeru (c.late 1st Century-early 2nd Century) [ヤマトタケル]
• Civil war of Wa (146-189 or 178-184)
• Expedition of Empress Jingū (c.3rd Century) [三韓征伐]
• Goguryeo–Yamato War (391-404)
• Kibi Clan Rebellion (463)
• Prince Hoshikawa Rebellion (479)
• Iwai Rebellion (527-528)
• Musashi no Kuni no Miyatsuko Rebellion (534) [武蔵国造の乱]
• Battle of Shigisan (587)
• Isshi Incident (645)　
• Expedition of Abe no Hirafu (658-660) [阿倍比羅夫]
• Battle of Baekgang (663)
• Jinshin War (672)　
• Hayato Rebellion (720-721)
• Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion (740)
• Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion (764)
• Thirty-Eight Year War (774-811)
• Hōki Rebellion (780-781?) [宝亀の乱]
• Battle of Subuse (788) [巣伏の戦い]
• Thirty-Eight Year War (774-811)
• Conquest by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (801)
• Last Conquest by Funya no Watamaro (811)
• Gangyō Rebellion (878) [元慶の乱]
• Kanbyō Silla pirate invasion (893) [新羅の入寇]
• Jōhei-Tengyō Rebellion (936-941) [承平天慶の乱]
• Fujiwara no Koresuke Rebellion (947) [藤原是助の乱]
• Toi invasion (1019)
• Taira no Tadatsune Rebellion (1028-1030) [平忠常の乱]
• Zenkunen War (1051-1062)
• Battle of Onikiribe (1051)
• Battle of Kinomi (1057)
• Siege of Komatsu (1062)
• Siege of Koromogawa (1062)
• Siege of Kuriyagawa (1062)
• Enkyū Battle of Ezo (1070) [延久蝦夷合戦]
• Gosannen War (1083-1087)
• Siege of Kanezawa (1087)
• Minamoto no Yoshichika Rebellion (1107-1108) [源義親の乱]
• Hōgen Rebellion (1156)
• Heiji Rebellion (1159)
• Genpei War (1180-1185)
  • Battle of Ishibashiyama (1180)　
  • Battle of Fujigawa (1180)
  • Battle of Sunomata-gawa (1181)
  • Battle of Kurikara (1183)
  • Siege of Hōjūjidono (1184)　
  • Battle of Uji (1184)
  • Battle of Awazu (1184)
  • Battle of Ichi-no-Tani (1184)
  • Battle of Kojima (1184)
  • Battle of Yashima (1185)
  • Battle of Dan-no-ura (1185)
• Ōshū War (1189) [奥州合戦]
• Wada Rebellion (1213) [和田合戦]
• Miura Rebellion (1247) [宝治合戦]
• Jokyu War (1221)
• Battle of Uji (1221)
• Mongol Invasions of Japan (1274 & 1281)
• Battle of Bun'ei (1274)　
• Battle of Kōan (1281)
• Genkō War (1331-1333)
• Siege of Kasagi(1331)
• Siege of Akasaka (1331)
• Siege of Chihaya (1333)
• Battle of Bubaigawara (1333)　
• Siege of Kamakura (1333)
• Nakasendai Rebellion (1335) [中先代の乱]
• Battle of Tatarahama (1336)
• Battle of Minatogawa (1336)
• Siege of Kanegasaki (1337)
• Battle of Ishizu (1338) [石津の戦い]
• Battle of Shijō Nawate (1348)
• Kannō Incident　(1350-1352) [観応の擾乱]
• Battle of Uchidehama (1351) [打出浜の戦い]
• Battle of Chikugogawa (1359) [筑後川の戦い]
• Ōei Rebellion (1399) [応永の乱]
• Rebellion of Uesugi Zenshū (1416-1417) [上杉禅秀の乱]
• Eikyō Rebellion (1438-1439) [永享の乱]
• Siege of Yūki (1440) [結城合戦]
• Kakitsu Incident (1441) [嘉吉の乱]
• Koshamain's Revolt (1456-1457) [コシャマインの戦い]
• Kyōtoku Incident (1455-1482)
• Battle of Bubaigawara (1455) [分倍河原の戦い(室町時代)]
• Battle of Irako (1459-1477) [五十子の戦い]
• Nagao Kageharu Rebellion (1476-1480) [長尾景春の乱]
• Battle of Egota-Numabukurohara (1477) [江古田・沼袋原の戦い]
• Ōnin War (1467-1477)
• Chōkyō Incident (1487-1505)　[長享の乱]
• Battle of Tachigawara (1504) [立河原の戦い]
• Battle of Kuzuryūgawa (1506)
• Battle of Nyoigatake (1509) [如意ケ嶽の戦い]
• Battle of Nagamorihara (1510) [長森原の戦い]
• Siege of Gongenyama (1510)
• Siege of Arai (1516)
• Battle of Arita-Nakaide (1517) [有田中井手の戦い]
• Battle of Iidagawara (1521)
• Ningbo Turmoil (1523) [寧波の乱]
• Battle of Katsuragawa (1527) [桂川原の戦い]
• Battle of Tatenawate (1530) [田手畷の戦い]
• Battle of Shiokawa no gawara (1531)
• Kyoroku War (1531) [享禄の錯乱]
• Battle of Daimotsu (1531) [大物崩れ]
• Tenbun War (1532-1535) [天文の錯乱]
• Siege of Iimoriyama (1532) [飯盛山城の戦い]
• Siege of Sakai (1532)
• Siege of Yamashina Honganji (1532) [山科本願寺の戦い]
• Battle of Idano (1535)
• Battle of Un no Kuchi (1536)　
• Battle of Sanbuichigahara (1536)
• Hanakura Incident (1536) [花倉の乱]
• Battle of Sendanno (1536)
• Battle of Un no kuchi (1536)
• Siege of Musashi-Matsuyama (1537)　
• Battle of Kōnodai (1538)
• Siege of Koriyama (1540-1541)
• Battle of Azukizaka (1542)
• Siege of Toda Castle (1542-1543)
• Utsuro Rebellion (1542-1548) [天文の乱(洞の乱)]
• Battle of Kawagoe (1546)
• Battle of Odaihara (1546)
• Battle of Azukizaka (1548)
• Battle of Uedahara (1548)
• Siege of Toishi (1550) [砥石崩れ]
• Battle of Kaizu (1552)
• Battles of Kawanakajima (1553, 1555, 1557, 1561, 1564)
• Battle of Enshu-Omori (1554)
• Battle of Ino (1555)
• Battle of Miyajima (1555)
• Battle of Nagaragawa (1556)
• Battle of Ukino (1558)
• Siege of Terabe (1558)
• Battle of Kōnodai (1564)
• Siege of Minowa (1566)
• Siege of Hachigata (1568)
• Battle of Mimasetoge (1569)
• Battle of Takehiro (1571)
• Siege of Iwamura Castle (1572)
• Battle of Mimigawa (1578)
• Battle of Okitanawate (1584)
• Battle of Suriagehara (1589)

Battles of Oda Nobunaga's

• Battle of Norada (1560)
• Siege of Marune (1560)
• Battle of Okehazama (1560)
• Siege of Inabayama Castle (1567)
• Battle of Anegawa (1570)
• Siege of Mount Hiei (1571)
• Sieges of Nagashima (1571, 1573, 1574)
• Battle of Mikatagahara (1572)
• Siege of Odani (1573)
• Sieges of Taketenjin (1574, 1580-1581)
• Second Siege of Iwamura Castle (1575)
• Battle of Nagashino (1575)
• Battle of Tedorigawa (1577)
• Siege of Miki (1578-1580)
• Siege of Takamatsu (1582)
• Incident at Honnō-ji (1582)

After the Unification of Toyotomi Hideyoshi

• Battle of Yamazaki (1582)
• Battle of Shizugatake (1583)
• Battle of Komaki and Nagakute (1584)
• Invasion of Shikoku (1585)
• Battle of Hetsugigawa (1587)
• Siege of Odawara (1590)
• Siege of Kunoe (1591
• Invasions of Korea
• Battle of Bunroku (1592-1593)
• Battle of Keicho (1597-1598)
• Battle of Hansan Island (1592)
• Battle of Haengju (1593)
• Battle of Myeongnyang (1597)
• Siege of Ulsan (1597-1598)
• Battle of Sacheon (1598)
• Battle of Noryang (1598)
• Battle of Sekigahara (1600)
  • Siege of Fushimi
  • Battle of Gifu Castle
  • Siege of Ueda

• Invasion of Ryukyu (1609)
• Siege of Osaka (1614-1615)
• Winter Campaign (大坂冬の陣 Osaka Fuyu no Jin)
• Battle of Imafuku (1614)
• Battle of Shigino (1614)
• Battle of Kizugawa (1614)
• Battle of Noda-Fukushima (1614)
• Siege of Sanada-maru (1615)
• Summer Campaign (大坂夏の陣 Osaka Natsu no Jin)
• Battle of Kashii (1615)
• Battle of Dōmyōji (1615)
• Battle of Yao (1615)
• Battle of Wakae (1615)
• Battle of Tennoji (1615)
• Shimabara Rebellion (1637-1638)
• Shakushain's Revolt (1669-1672)
• Jōkyō Uprising (1686)
• Ueda Rebellion (1761) [上田騒動]
• Nijinomatsubara Rebellion (1771) [虹の松原一揆]
• Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion (1789)
• Ōshio Heihachirō's Rebellion (1837)
• Tsushima Incident (1862)
• Battle of Shimonoseki Straits (1863)
• Battles for Shimonoseki (1863)
• Bombardment of Kagoshima (1863)
• Mito Rebellion (1864)
• Kinmon Incident (1864)
• First Chōshū expedition (1864)
• Battles for Shimonoseki (1864)
• Second Chōshū expedition (1866)
• Boshin War (1868-1869)
• Battle of Toba–Fushimi (1868)
• Battle of Awa (1868)
• Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma (1868)
• Battle of Utsunomiya Castle (1868)
• Battle of Ueno (1868)
• Battle of Aizu (1868)
• Battle of Miyako Bay (1869)
• Battle of Hakodate (1869)
• Naval Battle of Hakodate (1869)
• Saga Rebellion (1874)
• Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)
• Ganghwa Island incident (1875)
• Shinpūren Rebellion (1876)
• Akizuki Rebellion (1876)
• Hagi Rebellion (1876)
• Satsuma Rebellion (1877)
• Siege of Kumamoto Castle (1877)
• Battle of Tabaruzaka (1877)
• Battle of Shiroyama (1877)
• Donghak Peasant Revolution (1894-1895)
• Battle of Ugeumchi (1894)
• First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)
• Battle of Pungdo (1894)
• Battle of Seonghwan (1894)
• Battle of Pyongyang (1894)
• Battle of Yalu River (1894)
• Battle of Jiuliancheng (1894)
• Battle of Lushunkou (1894)
• Battle of Weihaiwei (1895)
• Battle of Yingkou (1895)
• Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)
• Pescadores Campaign (1895)
• Battle of Keelung (1895) (1895)
• Hsinchu Campaign (1895)
• Battle of Baguashan (1895)
• Battle of Chiayi (1895)
• Battle of Chiatung (1895)
• Capitulation of Tainan (1895)
• Battle of Changhsing (1895)
• Battle of Port Arthur (1904-1905)
• Battle of Yalu River (1904)
• Battle of the Yellow Sea (1904)
• Battle of Nanshan (1904)
• Battle of Shantung (1904)
• Battle of Dairen (1904)
• Battle of Liaoyang (1904)
• Battle of Tsushima (1905)
• Battle of Mukden (1905)
• Namdaemun Battle (1907)
• Siege of Tsingtao (1914)
• Battle of Qingshanli (1920)
• Battle of Fengwudong (1920)
• Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937)
• Battle of Beiping–Tianjin (1937)
• Battle of Shanghai (1937)
• Battle of Pingxingguan (1937)
• Battle of Nanjing (1937)
• Battle of Taiyuan (1937)
• Battle of Xuzhou (1937)
• Battle of Taierzhuang (1938)
• Battle of Wuhan (1938)
• Battle of Canton (1938)
• Battles of Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan Incident) (1939)
• Battle of Changsha (1939)
• Hundred Regiments Offensive (1940)