Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba

The samurai Suenaga under fire from Mongol arrows and bombs, second version

Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba (蒙古襲来絵詞, Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasion) is a set of two Japanese illustrated handscrolls (emakimono) dating from the Kamakura period (1185-1333), most likely between the second half of the thirteenth century and beginning of the fourteenth.^[1] They were commissioned by the samurai Takezaki Suenaga in order to record his battlefield valor and deeds during the Mongol invasions of Japan.

The author and artist are unknown. The scrolls show images of battles between the Mongol invaders and Japanese defenders on land and on the seas. Pictures are occasionally truncated by accompanying text. Several versions of the scrolls exist: the original 13th-century version, an 18th-century copy, a hand-drawn copy by dating from the 19th century, and a 21st-century reconstruction. The original is currently stored at the Museum of the Imperial Collections in Tokyo Imperial Palace.

Images[]

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  Japanese attack ships

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  Mongol soldiers, second version

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  Mongol ships, second version

See also[]

• Takezaki Suenaga
• Battle of Bun'ei
• Battle of Kōan
• Mongol Invasions of Japan

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba.

• Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan - Full digitized scans of the scrolls, multiple versions, including commentary, animated maps and translations. An annotated version is also accessible. http://digital.princeton.edu/annotatedscrolls/
• Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba (蒙古襲来絵詞) - High resolution scans of the 18th century copy, digital archives of Kyushu University

Bibliography[]

• Okudaira, Hideo (1973). Narrative picture scrolls. Arts of Japan. 5. Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0-8348-2710-3.
• Conlan, Thomas (2001). In little need of divine intervention: Takezaki Suenaga's scrolls of the Mongol invasions of Japan. Cornell East Asia series. 113. Cornell University. ISBN 978-1-885445-13-1.
• Tanaka, Ichimatsu (1964). Heiji monogatari emaki, Mōko shūrai ekotoba. Nihon emakimono zenshū (in Japanese). 9. Kadokawa Shoten.
• Komatsu, Shigemi (1978). 蒙古襲来絵詞 (Mōko shūrai ekotoba). Nihon emaki taisei (in Japanese). 14. Chuokoron-Shinsha.