Background
Sukeyoshi Shoni was born in 1198. He was the son of Mutô Sukeyori,
The graves of Shôni Sukeyoshi and his father Mutô Sukeyori, in Dazaifu
資能 少弐
Sukeyoshi Shoni was born in 1198. He was the son of Mutô Sukeyori,
He was appointed Dazai Shoni (Deputy Chief of the Imperial Headquarters at Dazaifu in Kyushu) in 1202 and adopted Shoni as his family name. An envoy from Korai, a county in Korea, brought a threatening message of Yuan to him in 1268. Another message from the Mongolian dynasty came to Dazaifu in 1273. Sukeyoshi bolstered the coastal defenses of Kyushu. A great fleet of Yuan attempted an invasion of Kyushu in 1281. Although Sukeyoshi had become a priest and called himself Kakukei, he commanded the Japanese troops and repulsed the Mongolian forces.