Forced self-reliance: the Kamakura Bakufu defense against the Mongol invasion of Japan

Abstract

When faced with the threat of invasion by the Mongol Empire and Goreyo, its vassal state, Kamakura Japan could have followed a diplomatic course with the Mongols or formed an alliance with anti-Mongol forces on the continent. Authorities in Japan, however, rejected both options, choosing instead to fight the Mongols alone on their own soil. International-relations models fail adequately to explain Kamakura Japan’s preference for self-reliance. By contrast, Asuka Japan, when faced with a similar invasion from Tang–Silla forces in an earlier era, opted to form an alliance with Baekjae, which culminated in a battle on the continent. Despite the copious scholarly treatment of the Mongol invasion, an important question about the Mongol–Japan War remains unanswered: How and why did Kamakura Japan’s governmental structure incline it to choose defensive self-reliance rather than diplomacy or military alliance?.