2026. no 1. Aleksey Bogolyubov
Scroll Depicting Hōjō Tokimune, the Conqueror of the Mongols,
from the Collection of the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage Museum
Aleksey Bogolyubov
State Hermitage Museum
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Abstract. The article investigates the principal stages in the life and political career of Hōjō Tokimune, one of the most emblematic military leaders and influential spiritual figures of medieval Japan. Within the holdings of the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage Museum there is preserved a hanging scroll portraying Tokimune in monastic vestments – an iconographic representation that invites deeper scholarly inquiry. The interpretation of this artefact necessitates a comprehensive examination of Tokimune’s biography, distinguished not only by his decisive leadership during the two Mongol invasions and his victories over the forces, commanded by Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, but also by his substantive role in implementing military and ad-ministrative reforms and in the institutional consolidation of the samurai class. Consideration of Tokimune’s legacy has facilitated the attribution and contextualization of this exceptional Japanese scroll and has made it possible to address the central question posed by the work: Why is Hōjō Tokimune depicted in monastic attire in this example, preserved within the Hermitage’s Oriental collection?.
Keywords: Hojo Tokimune – a military commander and spiritual leader; handscroll; Oriental Department of the State Hermitage Museum
For citation: Bogolyubov A.M. Scroll Depicting Hōjō Tokimune, the Conqueror of the Mongols, from the Collection of the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage Museum. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2026, vol. 13, no. 1, pp.30–36. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.1.30-36 (In Russian)
REFERENCES
- Antonov V.I. The Phenomenon of the Kamikaze in Japan’s Military History. Bulletin of the East-Siberian State University of Technology and Management (Bulletin of VSGUTU). 2017, no. 1 (64), pp. 142–147. (In Russian)
- History of the East, vol. II. The East in the Middle Ages. Rossabi, 2009. 399 p. (In Russian)
- Kadyrbayev A.Sh. Kublai Khan – Conqueror or the Unifier of China? Society and State in China. 2009, pp. 56–75. (In Russian)
- Spevakovsky A.B. Kamikaze. “Divine Wind” in the History of Japan.St. Petersburg: Paritet, 2013. 446 p. (In Russian)
- Atwood Christopher P. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. New York: Facts On File, 2004. 689 p.
- The Mongol Invasions of Japan. Samurai History & Culture Japan. https://samuraihistoryculture.substack.com/p/the-mongol-invasions-of-japan?utm_source=chatgpt.com (Accessed 01.12.2025).
INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aleksey M. Bogolyubov – Cand. Sci. (History), Custodian of the Japanese Art Collection, State Hermitage Museum (34, Dvortsovaya Embankment, St. Peterburg 190000, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-6061-6179. E-mail: okimono@yandex.ru
Received 14.01.2026
Accepted 15.03.2026
