This site features a set of scrolls depicting the Mongol invasions of Japan in the 13th century. The original scrolls were commissioned by Takezaki Suenaga, a Japanese warrior who fought in the battles against the Mongols. After disappearing for several centuries, the scrolls were rediscovered in the 18th century and subsequently underwent several attempts at reconstruction. This site includes four versions of the scrolls: the original 13th-century scroll, 18th-and 19th-century reconstructions, and a 21st-century restoration of the original.

The site enables the reader to view the four scrolls either individually or two at a time in a split screen, which allows for side-by-side comparison. Rather than dividing up the scrolls into segments and displaying them separately, the site produces an authentic scroll-viewing experience, in which viewers examine the scrolls from right to left in one continuous motion.

The site offers “zoom” and “pan” functions so that viewers can easily manipulate the images. The images are reproduced at a high resolution, so that viewers can zoom in on a portion of the screen and view it in extraordinary detail. Those interested in studying the details of Japanese armor and weaponry—or those interested in the visual representation of severed Mongol heads—might spend hours exploring the rich imagery in these scrolls.

The split screen function allows viewers to better appreciate the differences among the versions of the scrolls. The site offers a “Guided View” through the scrolls, in which Conlan, a specialist in Japanese military history, identifies some of the interesting details in the scrolls and discusses some of the key differences among them.

Additional information about some of the items visible on the scrolls, particularly relating to armor and weaponry, is available in a glossary. Conlan also provides an English translation of the scrolls, which is available via links posted directly on the image of the 19th-century version of the scrolls. This function allows the reader to see the English translation within the visual context of the scroll rather than as a separate text detached from the imagery.

The site is not intended to provide an encyclopedic introduction to the Mongol invasions of Japan; instructors seeking general information about the invasions and their historical context and significance will need to look elsewhere. The invasions are broadly relevant to world history teachers, and this site will be useful for those instructors wanting to provide a visual component to their presentation of this material. The site also provides a visually compelling inside look into the kinds of sources that historians use when writing about the past.