Many old city walls along the coast were built back then to guard against the wokou.
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history
The raids peaked in the 1550s, under the 嘉靖 Emperor of the Ming. Although the name means "Japanese bandits", many of the later raiders were Chinese smugglers. 戚继光 and 俞大猷 broke them in the 1560s.
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In the 20th century, above all during the war with Japan, 倭寇 became an insulting word for Japanese invaders. 倭 is an old name for Japan and now sounds derogatory.
