Parts of arrows have been discovered at the Takashima underwater site in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture, from a ship that sank during the Mongol invasions of Japan. The arrows, coated in black lacquer with red lacquer decoration, appear to be of Southern Song origin — suggesting the Mongols repurposed arrows seized after conquering the Southern Song for their assault on Japan.
The thread lit up with debate over how the find could even be confirmed as an arrow at all, alongside historical discussion of the power of Japanese longbows and Mongol military tactics — mixed in with some politically charged exchanges touching on China and Korea.
8/21/2026, 10:15 AM
It was revealed on the 20th that parts of arrows have been found at the Takashima underwater site in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture, from a ship that sank during the Mongol invasions of Japan in the Kamakura period, launched by the Yuan dynasty, which then held Mongol territory.
The arrows are believed to be from China’s Southern Song dynasty, seized by the Yuan after they conquered it and repurposed for the war against Japan.
I wonder if it's different from modern-day arrows?
3Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 05:43:05.22ID:7+/iWxs3
The Takashima underwater site is proof that the lost continent of Mu really existed!
5Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 06:23:46.26ID:rENzB3my
You're letting your imagination run way too wild.
How can they even confirm this is an arrow?
Are they stupid?
25Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 11:19:44.06ID:GCCLD+YO
>>5
They're calling it an arrow because it's an arrow — if you ask how they can be so sure, there's really no way to answer that.
6Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 07:17:20.92ID:3Yq3cdWk
A time when the Mongols were stronger than China, huh.
15Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 07:58:34.95ID:X4BBBK73
>>1
"Seized from the Southern Song and repurposed for the war against Japan?"
More like they worked the former Southern Song people to the bone and used them for the invasion of Japan.
So it's actually pretty natural for Southern Song military gear to turn up among artifacts related to the Mongol invasions.
18Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 08:14:40.08ID:hrLTM30w
>>1
"The Mongol invasions, launched by the Yuan dynasty, which then held Mongol territory" —
That phrasing alone is already hinting "this has nothing to do with China."
Do readers in Japan even need a footnote explaining what the Yuan dynasty and the Mongol invasions were in the first place?
Who exactly is this article written for?
26Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 11:22:19.73ID:GCCLD+YO
>>18
They became the Mongols' underlings, sure, but then went on to revive a Chinese empire, didn't they.
22Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 09:38:01.65ID:x3sdv5Nt
Historical studies at least still have some grounding in scientific evidence, but with religious studies it's often less a matter of "letting the imagination run wild" and more just full-blown delusion.
23Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 10:48:36.08ID:LC6VR7qW
Is the lacquer there to protect it from seawater?
24Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 10:54:55.62ID:7QtWG8rj
Back then the Kamakura samurai were vicious enough that they'd shoot passersby with bows for target practice, so the Mongol invaders were too terrified to land — but they couldn't retreat either, so they just kept sheltering out at sea indefinitely, until the typhoon finished them off.
27Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 11:27:07.28ID:5eT6qzns
Back then, Japan had the wayumi — a longbow uniquely developed in Japan — that could shoot far farther than the Mongol army's bows and could even punch straight through steel-plate armor. Just look at the yabusame horseback-archery ritual and you can see how huge the wayumi really is. What's more, it was fired by warriors on horseback who'd trained and trained. Japan was already the strongest in the world at that point.
28Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 11:36:09.04ID:5eT6qzns
Just look at the English longbow and you'll understand exactly how powerful this type of longbow can be.
Back then, Japan had the wayumi — a longbow uniquely developed in Japan — that could shoot far farther than the Mongol army's bows and could even punch straight through steel-plate armor. Just look at the yabusame horseback-archery ritual and you can see how huge the wayumi really is. What's more, it was fired by professional warriors on horseback who'd trained and trained. Japan was already the strongest in the world at that point.
29Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 11:53:28.57ID:5eT6qzns
Back then, Japanese warriors galloped at furious speed while accurately picking off enemy soldiers one after another. The wayumi's rate of fire was fast too.
The Mongol troops would get wiped out almost the instant they landed.
32Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 12:28:40.74ID:bvAqrrBl
Mongol arrows were weak — Japan didn't even need to bother copying that kind of armor-piercing design.
33Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 12:29:26.95ID:bvAqrrBl
Such a waste that all they've recovered so far is arrows.
35Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 12:56:57.22ID:vwOqP8re
>>33
Wooden anchors from Mongol invasion ships were recovered in 1994 and 2022.
They're massive — search for images, it's pretty wild.
34Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 12:51:33.83ID:UJU+o8X6
If this is from the Battle of Kōan, the core of the Jiangnan fleet was made up of former Southern Song troops, so it's not strange at all that they'd be carrying Southern Song arrows. What matters is that this is the first time one's ever been unearthed in Japan.
38Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 13:58:38.96ID:DS7QR2NB
The Yuan army in the Mongol invasions didn't fight anything like the Mongols actually fought. It's nothing like the classic Mongol hit-and-run tactics of lightly-armed mounted archers. What you're looking at is the old Chinese-style Southern Song mass-formation warfare — infantry units advancing to the beat of gongs. In Japanese terms, it's more like the tactics used back when fighting Goguryeo.
The horseback-archery of the Kamakura samurai was actually closer to genuine Mongol-style tactics.
48Anonymous2026/08/24(月) 20:46:39.91ID:NsqSBbfL
>>38
Well, that's because the defeated troops just fought however they were ordered to, right?
Were there even any actual Mongols on the ground, or was it just a handful of them there as overseers reporting back like some ruling elite up top?
Leave a Reply