During the Meiji period, Kencho SUEMATSU, a student studying in London read this in the book "Nihon" (Japan) of Philipp Franz von Siebold, and wrote his graduation thesis at Cambridge University titled 'The great conqueror Genghis Khan and Japanese hero MINAMOTO no Yoshitsune are the same person,' with the purpose of claiming the presence of Japan, because at that time Japan was seen as a mere tributary state of China, and this article was also published in Japanese under the title of "Yoshitsune Saikoki" (the rebirth story of MINAMOTO no Yoshitsune) (Meiji Shigakukai Zasshi (completion of Japanese history records)), and the book created a boom.
明治に入り、これを記したフィリップ・フランツ・フォン・シーボルトの著書『日本』を留学先のロンドンで読んだ末松謙澄は、当時中国の属国としか見られていなかった日本の自己主張のために、ケンブリッジ大学の卒業論文で「大征服者成吉思汗は日本の英雄源義経と同一人物なり」という論文を書き、『義経再興記』（明治史学会雑誌）として日本で和訳出版されブームとなる。