Imjin War
1592-1598 campaigns against Joseon by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
The Imjin War (Korean: 임진왜란; Hanja: 壬辰倭亂) was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596 between the conflicts, followed by a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (정유재란; 丁酉再亂). The conflict ended in 1598 with the withdrawal of Japanese forces from the Korean Peninsula after a military stalemate in Korea's southern provinces.
The invasions were launched by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to conquer Korea, and Japan quickly occupied large portions of the country. However, reinforcements from Ming China and disruption of Japanese supply fleets by the Joseon Navy forced the Japanese forces to withdraw from the northern provinces. Thereafter, Joseon civilian militias engaged in guerrilla warfare against the occupying Japanese forces, and supply difficulties hampered both sides. At that point, the conflict ground to a stalemate. The first phase of the conflict ended in 1596.
Japan invaded Korea again in 1597, and gained initial successes on land; similar to the previous campaign, the invading forces were later halted and withdrew to the peninsula's southern coastal regions. Ming and Joseon forces were unable to dislodge the Japanese from these positions. Both sides again became locked in a ten-month-long military stalemate.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Imjin War” is 1592-1598 campaigns against Joseon by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Imjin, 1592-1598 and campaigns, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1592-1598 campaigns against Joseon by Toyotomi Hideyoshi” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q576338. The Library of Congress control number is sh85073031. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1592, 1596, 1597 and 1598.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Imjin War”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Imjin War primary sources, Imjin War archive and Imjin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Imjin War”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Imjin War” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.