Battle of Noryang | |||||||
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Part of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) | |||||||
![]() Part of a Naval Battle Scroll from the Imjin War. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Japan |
Joseon Ming Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Japan Main: Konishi Yukinaga Reinforcement: Shimazu Yoshihiro Tachibana Muneshige[3] Wakizaka Yasuharu So Yoshitoshi Takahashi Naotugu Kobayakawa Hidekane Tsukushi Hirokado Terazawa Hirotaka |
Yi Sun-sin † Yi Yeong-nam † Chen Lin Chen Kan Deng Zilong † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
300 ships[4] 500 ships (Korean sources) |
148 ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
200 ships sunk 100 ships captured 500 soldiers beheaded 100+ soldiers captured 13,000 soldiers killed[7] 200 ships[4] | 500 soldiers and sailors |
Battle of Noryang | |||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||
Chinese | 露梁海战 | ||||||
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Korean name | |||||||
Hangul | 노량해전 | ||||||
Hanja | 露梁海戰 | ||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||
Kanji | 露梁海戦 | ||||||
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The Battle of Noryang, the last major battle of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), was fought between the Japanese navy and the combined fleets of the Joseon Kingdom and the Ming dynasty. It took place in the early morning of 16 December (19 November in the Lunar calendar) 1598 and ended past dawn.
The allied force of about 150 Joseon and Ming Chinese ships, led by admirals Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin, attacked and either destroyed or captured more than half of the 500 Japanese ships commanded by Shimazu Yoshihiro, who was attempting to link-up with Konishi Yukinaga. The battered survivors of Shimazu's fleet limped back to Busan and a few days later, left for Japan. At the height of the battle, Yi was hit by a bullet from an arquebus and died shortly thereafter. Chen Lin reported the news back to the Wanli Emperor, and since then, Chen and Yi were celebrated as national heroes.