The 1592–1598 war in Korea launched by Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Japan was called the Imjin War.
The conflict began when Hideyoshi sent Japanese armies into Korea in 1592, intending to use the peninsula as a route for conquering Ming China. Japan captured Seoul and Pyongyang early in the campaign, but Korean naval victories under Admiral Yi Sun-sin, Korean resistance, and Ming military intervention halted the advance.
The war consisted of two major invasions: the first began in 1592, and the second began in 1597. Fighting ended after Hideyoshi died in 1598, prompting Japanese forces to withdraw. Japan did not achieve its larger objective, and Korea suffered enormous destruction and population loss.
The conflict is also called the Japanese invasions of Korea or the Imjin War, after “Imjin,” the Korean name for the sexagenary-calendar year 1592. It should not be confused with the much earlier Genpei War in Japan or the later Boshin War.