The Identity of the Great Conqueror Genghis Khan with the Japanese hero Yoshitsune
A Historical Thesis
Book •
Suematsu Kensho's 1879 work presents a speculative thesis equating the Japanese hero Yoshitsune with Genghis Khan, aiming to popularize and legitimize Japanese claims to Hokkaido and influence Western readers.
The book compiles folklore, linguistic conjectures, and selective historical anecdotes to argue for Yoshitsune's escape to Ezo and eventual transformation into Temujin.
Written early in Suematsu's career, it reflects Meiji-era nationalist and expansionist sentiments and attempts to tie Japan's past heroes to broader Asian history.
Modern scholarship regards the thesis as unfounded and illustrative of how myth and political motives can shape historical interpretation.
The work is chiefly of interest for history of historiography and Meiji-era cultural nationalism.
The book compiles folklore, linguistic conjectures, and selective historical anecdotes to argue for Yoshitsune's escape to Ezo and eventual transformation into Temujin.
Written early in Suematsu's career, it reflects Meiji-era nationalist and expansionist sentiments and attempts to tie Japan's past heroes to broader Asian history.
Modern scholarship regards the thesis as unfounded and illustrative of how myth and political motives can shape historical interpretation.
The work is chiefly of interest for history of historiography and Meiji-era cultural nationalism.
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Episode 617 - I am Legend, Part 4
