Significance
From a military perspective, the failed invasions of Kublai Khan were the first of only two instances (the other being the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592) where the samurai would fight foreign troops rather than amongst themselves. It is also the first time samurai clans fought for the sake of Japan itself instead of more narrowly defined clan interests. The invasions also exposed the Japanese to an alien fighting style which, devoid of the single combat that characterized traditional samurai combat, they saw as inferior. This difference is noted in the Hachiman Gudōkun:
| “ | According to our manner of fighting we must first call out by name someone from the enemy ranks, and then attack in single combat. But the Mongols took no notice at all of such conventions. They rushed forward all together in a mass, grappling with any individuals they could catch and killing them. | ” |
The Mongol method of advances and withdrawals accompanied by bells, drums and war cries was also unknown in Japan, as was the technique of Mongolian archers, which involved shooting arrows en masse into the air rather than long-ranged one-on-one combat. Besides national boundaries, the Zen Buddhism of Hojo Tokimune and his Zen master Bukko had gained credibility, and the first mass followings of Zen teachings among samurai began to flourish. This also marks the first use of the word kamikaze ("Divine Wind"). It also perpetuated the Japanese belief that they could not be defeated, which remained an important aspect of Japanese foreign policy until the end of the Second World War. The failed invasions also demonstrated a weakness of the Mongols - the inability to mount naval invasions successfully. (See also Mongol invasions of Vietnam). After the death of Kublai, his successor, Temür Öljeytü unsuccessfully demanded the submission of Japan in 1295.
The Mongols and the Ashikaga shogunate of Japan made their peace in the late 14th century during the reign of Toghun Temür, the last Yuan emperor in Dadu. Long before the peace, there was stable trade in East Asia under the dominance of the Mongols and Japan.
As a consequence of the destruction of the Mongol fleets, Japan's independence was guaranteed. Simultaneously, a power struggle within Japan led to dominance of military governments and diminishing Imperial power.
Read more about this topic: Mongol Invasions Of Japan
Famous quotes containing the word significance:
“Of what significance the light of day, if it is not the reflection of an inward dawn?—to what purpose is the veil of night withdrawn, if the morning reveals nothing to the soul? It is merely garish and glaring.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“For a parent, it’s hard to recognize the significance of your work when you’re immersed in the mundane details. Few of us, as we run the bath water or spread the peanut butter on the bread, proclaim proudly, “I’m making my contribution to the future of the planet.” But with the exception of global hunger, few jobs in the world of paychecks and promotions compare in significance to the job of parent.”
—Joyce Maynard (20th century)
“The hypothesis I wish to advance is that ... the language of morality is in ... grave disorder.... What we possess, if this is true, are the fragments of a conceptual scheme, parts of which now lack those contexts from which their significance derived. We possess indeed simulacra of morality, we continue to use many of the key expressions. But we have—very largely if not entirely—lost our comprehension, both theoretical and practical, of morality.”
—Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (b. 1929)