Song Dynasty flees to Japan

What if the court of the Song Dynasty, along with the Chinese imperial family, and their staff, among them, craftsmen, engineers, had fled and taken refuge in Japan in 1279, shortly after the Battle of Yamen, which definitely sealed the fate of the dynasty Song.

I do not know how that would be possible in this window of time, or sometime just before, and what are the actions and reactions of the shogun, the emperor and the daimyo in this scenario.
 
What if the court of the Song Dynasty, along with the Chinese imperial family, and their staff, among them, craftsmen, engineers, had fled and taken refuge in Japan in 1279, shortly after the Battle of Yamen, which definitely sealed the fate of the dynasty Song.

I do not know how that would be possible in this window of time, or sometime just before, and what are the actions and reactions of the shogun, the emperor and the daimyo in this scenario.
It should be possible, but why not flee to Vietnam?
 
By 1279, Japan had spent five years building up its defenses for a possible Mongol invasion. If the Song Dynasty hopes to invade Japan in an effort to escape the Mongols, they run the very high risk of being defeated. Historically, in 1281, the Japanese defeated a Mongol invasion that was much larger than the Song fleet envisioned in this scenario (though debate exists about how much help the kamikaze contributed to the Japanese victory). By 1279, the Song forces would be the demoralized remnants of a dying dynasty. I see no way that the Song could force their way into Japan.

If the Song come as guests, the reception might be a bit nicer.
 
Did the Song had a fleet that large at the battle of Yamen?
Yes they did. The Song wouldn't be an invasion force, and would not want to fight the Japanese, but a force that large would surely make any unwelcoming host think twice before shooing away the Song and forcing a confrontation.
 
Let us consider the historically significant gifts of Chinese culture to Japan at that point. The Emperor-in-Exile would certainly have been welcomed and He and His Followers comfortably ensconced in an out-of-the-way place like Hokkaido. What then? Dare I say...Gunpowder?
 
OP says that the fleeing fleet has the imperial family, craftsmen and engineers, not to mention a respectably large and technologically advanced army (although lacking in leadership like all Song armies). I see the local damiyo actually welcoming them to strengthen himself.
 
Actually, Hokkaido was wide-open territory for settlement for a down-on-their-luck group with advanced technology in hand. There were NO settlements of mainline Japanese culture in that territory. It wasn't a place where you could grow rice, the standard fungible tax commodity. It did have land, water, forests, population, fur, and seafood. Think it over......?
 
Actually, Hokkaido was wide-open territory for settlement for a down-on-their-luck group with advanced technology in hand. There were NO settlements of mainline Japanese culture in that territory. It wasn't a place where you could grow rice, the standard fungible tax commodity. It did have land, water, forests, population, fur, and seafood. Think it over......?

as well as troublesome natives that could quite easily kill you.

Unless you have advanced enough technology that you can get a sizable force to quell the Natives then Hokkaido is a no-go.
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
Why not go to Taiwan Zheng Chenggong stylr?

quite interesting in its own right - a Song Taiwan.

That has interesting knock-ons even if it falls fairly soon after to the mainland, and even more interesting ones if the Song on Taiwan fend off Mongol fleets for the life of the Yuan Dynasty.
 
IOTL, Japan actually welcomed plenty of noble and royal exiles from Baekje when Silla conquered it, so it's not unrealistic for Song royals to join the Japanese hierarchy. It's a step down from emperor to noble, but at least they're not dead, or reduced to peasants. Outright trying to invade and hold on to land would very much end badly, but a Song emperor humble enough to offer his and his subjects services to a daimyo (and recognizing that retaking China is but a dashed dream) would stand to gain a lot, perhaps becoming a retainer with land or better.
 
Years later, some samurai clans will claim descent from the last Song Emperor.

As for where the Song exiles will settle, it's more likely to be Kyushu.
 
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