Wokou

Wokou (Chinese: 倭寇; pinyin: Wōkòu; Japanese: わこう Wakō, Wako, したがう; Yamatoada; Korean: 왜구 Waegu, "Oaegu"), which literally translates as "Japanese pirates" in English, were pirates of varying origins who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century onwards. Originally, the Wokou were mainly soldiers, ronin, merchants and smugglers from Japan; however in later centuries most of the pirates actually originated in China.