Wokou

The term kaizoku, or wokou in Chinese refers to Japanese pirates, who typically attacked Chinese and Korean shipping, raiding coastal towns, and even making their way up major river systems such as the Yangtze. Wokou raids on China took place from the 13th to the 16th century. Japanese pirates were typically Ronin, former soldiers, and smugglers, who smuggled goods into Japan in spite of Korean and Chinese restrictions on trade with Japan. The kaizoku fell into decline with the loosening of trade restrictions in the late 1500s, as well as anti-piracy military actions by Korea and the newly arrived Portuguese, as well as within Japan itself.