In the year 1227, on this day of August 18, Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, died at 65 years old.
His grandson, Kublai Khan, tried two times to invade Japan, in 1274 and in 1281.
According to some legends, Raijin, the kami of thunder and lightning…
Raijin Statue, Nitenmon Gate, Taiyuin Mausoleum, Nikko
… or, according to others, Fujin, the kami of the wind…
Fujin Statue, Nitenmon Gate, Taiyuin Mausoleum, Nikko
… protected Japan by striking Kublai Khan’s fleet with the kamikaze, the divine wind.
However, according to the historians, the Kublai Khan’s vessels sunk because they were poorly built or because they were sabotaged by the Chinese builders…I kind of prefer the the mythical version…
