Before the Storm: A Transrealm History of the Decades Leading Up to the First Mongol Invasion of Japan

Abstract

Abstract: The Mongol invasions of Japan (1274 and 1281) are among the most widely studied events in thirteenth-century East Asian maritime history. Less attention, however, has been paid to the lengthy negotiations that took place prior to the first invasion and involved Khubilai Khan (1215–1294), his Chinese advisers, the Koryŏ king, the Kamakura shogunate, and the Japanese imperial court. Based on primary sources from the Mongols, Koreans, and Japanese, this article demonstrates that merely focusing on the invasions themselves is insufficient to describe their complexity. Moreover, the diverse strategies that different regimes utilized in dealing with the Mongol Empire demonstrate new possibilities for interpreting the medieval maritime world in ways that go beyond the conventional historical narrative, which treats Mongolian expansion as the overarching framework. Adopting a transrealm and maritime perspective that enables the integration of Japanese history within a broader geographic context, this article investigates the actions and reactions of different parties to the negotiations. It thus attempts to move beyond the conceptual limitations we run up against when we apply contemporary boundaries and identities associated with modern nation-states in studying this important episode in East Asian and world history.