During the period of the Northern and Southern Courts and the period of Warring States in Japan, samurai warriors and pirates from the Kyushu and Inland Sea regions attacked ships along the coasts of China and Korea and were feared as Japanese pirates (called "wako" in Japanese).
南北朝時代(日本)や戦国時代(日本)には九州・瀬戸内海方面の武士や海賊が中国、朝鮮沿岸を荒らしまわり、倭寇と恐れられた。