Past in the Present: The Genkō Shrine and the Ritual Reinvention of History

On October 20, 2024, a special commemorative ceremony for the war dead was held at the Genkō Shrine (literally, "Shrine of the Yuan Invaders") in Fukuoka City, Japan. Taking place during the annual Genkō Festival (Genkō matsuri), this irei ceremony marked the 750th anniversary of the Mongol Invasion of Japan in 1281, when Mongol Empire forces attacked western Japan, including Fukuoka. Attended by the Ambassador of Mongolia to Japan, the Honorary Consul of Mongolia in Fukuoka, and local participants, the ceremony featured not only Shinto rituals performed by Shinto priests but also Buddhist rituals conducted by Japanese Shingon monks alongside senior Mongolian monks from the Mongolian People’s Republic, including the head abbot of Gandan Monastery, the leading monastery in Mongolia. Shinto priests and Buddhist monks chanted prayers and sūtras, honoring the dead from “both sides of the conflict.” It was said that this was the first time the annual Genkō Festival featured Mongol participation, transforming the event into a historic interfaith and intercultural gathering intended to strengthen Japan-Mongolia relations and promote peace. Interestingly, while this ceremony commemorates battles from centuries ago, it is itself a modern phenomenon, as the Genkō Shrine was only established in 1919.

Focusing on the annual Genkō Festival at the Genkō Shrine in Fukuoka, this paper examines how the 13th-century Mongol Invasion of Japan, a historical episode from the Kamakura period, is remembered through rituals that began only in the 20th century. Further, by situating the Genkō Festival within the broader early 20th-century trend of ritual activities commemorating the Mongol Invasion, this paper explores how narratives surrounding the invasions have shifted in modern Japanese historical memory. More importantly, it asks: What purposes do these evolving narratives serve? What do modern rituals commemorating an unsuccessful foreign invasion—one thwarted by divine winds and the might of samurai warriors—reveal about the relationship between religion and the construction of an "ancient" past in the "modern" present?

To address these questions, the paper first introduces the Genkō Shrine in Fukuoka and the annual irei rituals of the Genkō Festival, particularly examining how these rituals construct history and frame the war dead from “both sides of the conflict” through the rhetoric of “transcending enmity and vengeance” (onshū wo koeru). Second, the paper traces the history of the Genkō Shrine and its related ritual practices, situating the festival within a larger movement initiated by Takeo Yuchi (1847-1913), who promoted the construction of commemorative stele throughout Japan as a nationalist project honoring the defeat of the Mongol invaders. Third, the paper examines how genkō commemoration rituals have evolved since the early 20th century, shifting from a nationalist memory project in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) to a mechanism for promoting Pan-Asianism against Western imperialism, and later to a diplomatic event reinforcing strategic geopolitical alliances. Over time, the meaning of "genkō" itself has transformed: first appearing in historical works from the late Edo period, it originally referred to the Mongol Empire’s invaders but later came to encompass any foreign force—including imagined threats—targeting China, Korean, and the United States.

Through this analysis, the paper argues that: First, although the Genkō Shrine and its irei rituals center on commemorating war dead from an "ancient" past, they were originally part of a modern movement in 20th-century Japan that sought to "revive" and construct a nationalist historical memory of resistance against foreign invasion—one deeply intertwined with religious narratives. Secondly, By the 1930s and 1940s, these rituals shifted from celebrating victory to memorializing the war dead from "both sides," emphasizing reconciliation and Japan’s moral superiority in alignment with rising Pan-Asianist ideologies accompanying Japan’s imperial expansion. Notably, this was the first time Mongol representation was incorporated into the festival. However, the Mongol delegates invited at this time were not from independent Mongolia but rather the Inner Mongolian political leader Demchugdongrub (1902-1966) and representatives of the Japanese-backed Mengjiang State (a.k.a. the "Mongolian Manchukuo"). Thirdly, in recent years, contemporary rituals have once again sought to include Mongol representatives, as seen in the 2024 commemorative ceremonies. However, unlike in the 1930s and 1940s, only delegates from the Mongolian People’s Republic were invited. These representatives, in turn, used the event to assert their status as the rightful heirs of Mongolian culture and history, overshadowing Inner Mongolia, where ethnic Mongols continue to struggle for linguistic and religious rights under Chinese Communist rule in the Peope's Republic of China. Despite these shifts, contemporary rituals honoring the war dead from “both sides” now function as a platform to promote renewed Japan-Mongolia relations under the banner of peace amid a volatile geopolitical landscape in Northeast Asia.

Ultimately, the Genkō Shrine and its festival offer a compelling case study of how rituals create spaces not only for the reconstruction, reimagination, and revival of the past—however distant—but also for forging new alliances “beyond enmity” in response to contemporary geopolitical challenges. As history is ritualized, old conflicts take on new meanings, shaped by shifting political landscapes and the persistent need for the intervention of “divine winds” in an ever-changing world.