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I think that I once wrote a very detailed and in-depth guide on how to fight the Mongols... But sadly, that is long lost. (I will look for scraps of it on my old computer's files, but little hope.)

The Mongol cavalry are unmatched by anything you can field. Each of their troops are very strong (particularly light and heavy cavalry, Korean skirmishers and thunder bombers - I distinctly do NOT count their other Korean conscripts, who are just there for padding and can be defeated by your weakest troops) but they don't have many of them, so their tactical options are sorely limited. After many many games with and against them (I loved the Mongols in Warlord Edition and spent lots of time scribbling tactics and counter-counter-tactics) I boasted that in custom battles I could defeat any Mongol army of less than twice my strength, without knowing what they were fielding in advance. So far I haven't lost against them in multiplayer, though I didn't really play multiplayer all that many times.

But that's the tactical side. For the campaign, you will be overwhelmed from the start. You'll have no choice but to use fighting withdrawals, or even flat-out draw back to more defensible provinces, until you can hold the horde back at a few key chokepoints. While you try to contain their spread, build up the elite army you need to defeat them.

A few tips I can give you would be...

1. Neutralize their superior cavalry and the rest will fall in. Everything else is just about how to practically apply this "tip."

2. Use many spears, both foot and mounted, and upgrade them relentlessly. Your fully-upgraded Yari Samurai are the best weapon you have against Mongol heavy cavalry.

3. Try to fight defensive battles. Nothing you have can outrun Mongol light cavalry, and you don't want them picking the terrain.

4. USE the terrain. Use the forests, always, even if you have to give up high ground. They're your best advantage against both Mongol cavalry types.

5. A good army would consist of at least half well-upgraded Yari Samurai and Yari Cavalry. The rest are support troops: mainly archers and crossbows, with a tiny detachment of nodachi if you feel that your yari cavalry aren't enough to smash their infantry. Never use any Japanese cavalry other than the yari type, they're completely outclassed.

6. Keep your yari cavalry in reserve until you've routed the Mongol heavy cavalry, by forcing them to charge into your spear points in the forest. Your cavalry's mission is to hunt down the Mongol light cavalry. Mongol heavy cavalry will eat any Japanese cavalry alive on the open field.

You see, the beauty of Shogun is that every unit, even the strongest, has strengths and weaknesses. Find their weak point and exploit it, and you will do well.

Very simple answer to the first question: all yari units have a +2/+2 bonus against cavalry. This is practically a doubling of yari samurai's base defense, so their survivability against cavalry is incomparably higher than nodachi samurai (who are purely offensive troops anyway.)

All infantry units have an additional +2/+2 bonus against cavalry when fighting in woods. So if you have nodachi samurai in reserve behind your spear line, by all means you can send them in to support the battle against the mongol cavalry. That's how you're supposed to use them: to attack units that are already engaged and kill them faster (yari samurai typically kill slowly and die slowly, while nodachi are the reverse.)

You can use wedge for that purpose, but I would not use it to attack with your yari samurai because it's counterproductive. Your men will kill faster and die faster and that won't help their morale at all. The many deaths scare them. Try keeping them bunched up in a line of three or four units instead, with men at their backs, and ganging up on the enemy when you can. Don't let yourself be enveloped. Soldiers get scared for fairly sensible reasons in Shogun - but they are usually able to withstand a cavalry charge.

Use terrain advantages too: if you're on a plateu, move past the edge so that you're actually fighting downhill - it makes a difference, because if you're on flat ground you don't get the hieght advantage in melee. I'd still prefer to always be in trees against Mongols. A 1/2 (attack/defense) green Yari Samurai recruit becomes 5/6 when fighting cavalry in there - easily the equal of any heavy cavalry. As long as they hold their resolve of course. Friendly troops and the general nearby seem to help soldiers hold steady.

By the way, when I said "they don't have many of them" in my post above, I meant that the Mongols only have five meaningful unit types, so their tactical choices are necessarily finite. On a reread, it wasn't all that clear.

"Very well said, although I'm a bit skeptical of your high opinion of Ashigaru crossbowmen. They seem pretty worthless to me."
They are pretty worthless. I use them as bait because the AI is too smart to charge cavalry into spears in a forest. The spears are hidden behind them, and they might with luck snipe a few thunder bombers or other such troops that approach. These are supposed to mostly die when the enemy charges - but they keep your other more important troops alive.

"BTW, how do you prefer to deal with the Korean skirmishers? Are they best fought with Yari cavalry, or spearmen?"
Spearmen are heavy infantry... skirmishers are powerful, slow-firing ranged troops... Cavalry are fast strike troops...
Skirmishers are the Mongols' best answer to Yari samurai and are well-defended against archers as well. You definitely should avoid fighting them with your infantry if you can. Use your yari cavalry to loop around and attack them in the back, driving them into your lines where they can neither flee nor fire.