Topic summary
Battle of Myeongnyang
- Fleet of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Katō Yoshiaki
Kurushima Michifusa†
Wakizaka Yasuharu
Kuki Yoshitaka
Pae Hŭngnip
32 scouting ships (Yi's report, likely did not participate in combat)
More than 30 ships destroyed (Hawley)
About 30 ships destroyed (Lewis)
Half of the elders (Tōdō clan memoirs).
Half of the Japanese (prisoner's testimony)
At least 2 killed and 3 wounded aboard Yi Sun-sin's flagship (Yi's record)
At least 8 drowned from An Wi's ship
The Battle of Myeongnyang was fought on October 26, 1597 between the Joseon Navy led by AdmiralYi Sun-sin and the Japanese navy in the Myeongnyang Strait, near Jindo Island, off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula. With only 13 ships remaining from Admiral Wŏn Kyun's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chilcheollyang, Admiral Yi held the strait as a "last stand" battle against the Japanese navy, who were sailing to support their land army's advance towards the Joseon capital of Hanyang (modern-day Seoul).
The actual numeric strength of the Japanese fleet that Admiral Yi fought is unclear; Korean sources indicate 120 to 133 ships participated in combat, with an unknown number sitting out, up to 330 in total. Regardless of the size of the Japanese fleet, all sources indicate that the Japanese ships heavily outnumbered the Korean ships, by at least a ten-to-one ratio.
In total 31 Japanese warships were sunk or crippled during the battle. Tōdō Takatora, one of the commanders of the Japanese navy, was wounded during the battle and many others were killed. The result overall was a humiliating naval defeat for the Japanese. Even after their victory, however, the Joseon navy was still outnumbered by the remaining Japanese forces, so Admiral Yi withdrew to the Yellow Sea to resupply his fleet and have more space for a mobile defense. After the Korean navy withdrew, the Japanese navy made an incursion into the western coast of Korea, near some islands in modern-day Yeonggwang County.