Change of era
– Tenmei (天明) era name created to mark the enthronement of Emperor Kōkaku
– Selected from a passage in a historical Chinese text, the Classic of History (書経)
– Era name chosen based on the characters 天 and 明
– Previous era ended on the second day of the fourth month in Anei 11
– The new era commenced on the same day
Events of the Tenmei Era
– Tenmei famine is said to have begun in 1782
– Emperor presented with an analysis of silver currency in China and Japan in 1782
– Mount Asama erupted in 1783, causing a loss of life estimated at more than 20,000
– The eruption worsened the Great Tenmei Famine
– Famine was exacerbated due to eight years of near- or actual famine prior to the Tenmei Era
Tenmei Era Celebrations and Incidents
– Country-wide celebrations in honor of Kōbō-Daishi, founder of Shingon Buddhism, in 1784
– Assassination of the son of the Shōgun’s chief counselor in 1784
– Liberalizing reforms initiated by the senior councilor were blocked after the assassination
– Shōgun Tokugawa Ieharu died in 1786
– Tokugawa Ienari became the 11th Shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1787
Publications and Riots
– Kutsuki Masatsuna published Seiyō Senpu (Notes on Western Coinage) in 1787
– Riots broke out in rice shops in Edo and Osaka in 1788
– Great Fire of Kyoto occurred in 1788, destroying the Imperial Palace
– The fire was considered a major event and a heavenly portent
– The rebuilding of Kyoto was not permitted until a new palace was completed
References and External links
– References to books and publications on the Tenmei Era
– National Diet Library provides a historical overview of the Japanese calendar during the Tenmei Era
– National Archives of Japan has a scroll showing an illustrated inventory of industries in Karatsu Domain during Tenmei 4 (1784)
– Toyohara Chikanobu’s artwork ‘Mirror of the Ages’ depicts Tenmei era scenes
– External link to the Wikipedia page on Tenmei era for further information Source URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenmei
