INTERACTIVE MARCH
The Keichō Campaign
July 1597 – November 1598 · Southern Korean Peninsula
With the peace talks broken, the Japanese crossed again, crushed the Korean navy at Chilcheollyang and took Namwon, securing Jeolla. Halted at Jiksan and beaten at Myeongnyang by the reinstated Yi Sun-sin, they were pinned to their coastal forts. Hideyoshi's death in August 1598 brought withdrawal, and the seven-year war ended with the sea battle of Noryang in November.
Course of the battle
1 16 July 1597
Battle of Chilcheollyang
Won Gyun, who had replaced Yi Sun-sin, lost the Korean fleet in a night attack. It was the only battle in which the Korean navy was all but destroyed, and it opened Jeolla to the Japanese.
The Joseon fleet is destroyed in a night attack
Orders the second expedition from Nagoya in Hizen
Sources3·Certainty: High
2 16 August 1597
Siege of Namwon
Ukita Hideie and Konishi Yukinaga besieged the city with over 50,000 men and overcame the Ming and Korean garrison. Jeolla, which had held out through the Bunroku campaign, fell to the Japanese for the first time.
Sources3·Certainty: High
3 7 September 1597
Battle of Jiksan
Kuroda Nagamasa's advance toward Hanseong ran into the Ming army and halted here. This was the northernmost point the Japanese reached in the Keicho campaign.
Clashes with the Ming at Jiksan and the advance halts
Sources3·Certainty: High
4 16 September 1597
Battle of Myeongnyang
The reinstated Yi Sun-sin, with only thirteen ships, used the tidal race of the narrow strait to drive off the Japanese fleet. With the sea route cut again, the Japanese were fixed to the southern coast.
Repels the Japanese fleet with thirteen ships and the tide
Sources3·Certainty: High
5 December 1597 – January 1598
Siege of Ulsan
Kato Kiyomasa was besieged in the still-unfinished Dosan fortress by over 50,000 Ming and Korean troops. He held out without water or food until relief broke the siege.
Withstands the siege at the unfinished Ulsan castle
Sources3·Certainty: High
6 1 October 1598
Battle of Sacheon
Shimazu Yoshihiro drove off a much larger Ming and Korean force with a small garrison. With withdrawal near, it was a decisive win for holding the southern coast.
Repels a large Ming and Joseon force with few troops
Sources3·Certainty: High
7 September – October 1598
Siege of Suncheon
At Suncheon, the westernmost Japanese fort, Konishi Yukinaga was attacked by Liu Ting of Ming by land and Yi Sun-sin by sea. The fort held, and Konishi opened talks to withdraw.
Is attacked by land and sea at Suncheon
Attacks Suncheon from the land
Attacks Suncheon from the sea
Sources3·Certainty: High
8 19 November 1598
Battle of Noryang
The allied Ming and Korean fleets pursued the withdrawing Japanese in the last great sea battle. Yi Sun-sin was struck by a stray shot and died here. With it the seven-year war came to an end.
Is killed in action at Noryang
Leads the Ming fleet in pursuit
Sources3·Certainty: High
Key figures
Other events of 1597
Notes on the data
Scene coordinates are given at city or county level, not to the street. The peninsula is drawn from the eight Joseon provinces derived from Natural Earth.
Sources consulted
- 九州国立博物館メールマガジン362号
- 長崎県「年表で学ぼう」
- ja.wikipedia.org「文禄・慶長の役」および各戦闘の記事
The numbers in the text refer to the list above. Certainty indicates how far a statement is supported by the cited sources; it does not refer to the precision of the coordinates or the dating.
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