also: はちまんせん · ばはんぶね · はちまんぶね
noun
Japanese pirate ship (medieval)
Historical term for ships used by Japanese pirates (wokou) during the Middle Ages, often bearing the Hachiman (八幡) banner.
中世の日本では、八幡船が沿岸を荒らし回った。
In medieval Japan, Hachiman ships raided the coasts.
この資料には八幡船の構造が詳しく
This document describes the structure of Hachiman ships in detail.
倭寇 refers to the Japanese pirates themselves, while 八幡船 specifically denotes their ships, often associated with the Hachiman deity.
From 八幡 (Hachiman, the Shinto god of war) and 船 (ship). The name likely derives from the Hachiman banners flown by these pirate vessels.