:Meiwa
{{Short description|Period of Japanese history (1764–1772)}}
{{other uses}}{{distinguish|Reiwa era}}
{{History of Japan |image=Shoso-in.jpg |caption=Shōsōin}}
{{nihongo|Meiwa|明和}} was a {{nihongo|Japanese era name|年号|nengō|"year name"}} after Hōreki and before An'ei. This period spanned the years from June 1764 through November 1772.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Meiwa" {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|Japan Encyclopedia, p. 625|page=625}}; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see [https://archive.today/20120524174828/http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File]. The reigning empress and emperor were {{nihongo|Go-Sakuramachi-tennō|後桜町天皇}} and {{nihongo|Go-Momozono-tennō|後桃園天皇}}.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran&pg=PP9 Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 419.]
Change of era
- 1764 {{nihongo|Meiwa gannen|明和元年}}: The era name became Meiwa (meaning "Bright Harmony") because of the enthronement of Empress Go-Sakuramachi.
As a cultural phenomenon, the literature of this period records concerted attempts to distill the aggregate characteristics of the inhabitants of Edo (Edokko) into a generalized thumbnail description. These traits (Edokko katagi) were put into use to draw a contrast between Edokko and those who did not have this "sophisticated" gloss—those not from the city, as in merchants from the Kyoto-Osaka region or samurai from distant provinces. Sometimes Edokko katagi was presented with pride; and it was used mockingly.Nara, Hiroshi. (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2PmiT_rrPGQC&q=The+Structure+of+Detachment:+the+Aesthetic+Vision+of+Kuki+Sh%C5%ABz%C5%8D+with+a+translation+of+%22Iki+no+k%C5%8Dz%C5%8D.%22 The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō," p. 1.]
Events
- 1765 (Meiwa 2): Five-momme coin issued.
- 1766 (Meiwa 3): A planned insurrection to displace the Shōgun was thwarted.Screech, T. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BLzQA7cpr7wC&q=Secret+Memoirs+of+the+Shoguns:+Isaac+Titsingh+and+Japan,+1779-1822 Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822. pp. 139]-145.
- 1768 (Meiwa 5): Five-momme usage halted.
- 1770 (Meiwa 7): A typhoon flattened the newly built Imperial Palace in Kyoto.Hall, John. (1955). Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788, p. 120.
- 1770 (Meiwa 7): A great comet (Lexell's Comet) with a very long tail lit up the night skies throughout the summer and autumn.
- 1770 (Meiwa 7): Although no one could have known it at the time, this was the first of 15 consecutive years of drought in Japan.
- April 1, 1772 (Meiwa 9, 29th day of the 2nd month): "The Great Meiwa Fire"—one of the three greatest Edo fire disasters. Unofficial reports describe a swath of ashes and cinders nearly five miles wide and {{convert|15|mi|km}} long—destroying 178 temples and shrines, 127 daimyō residences, 878 non-official residences, 8705 houses of bannermen, and 628 blocks of merchant dwellings, with estimates of over 6,000 casualties. All this devastation subsequently engendered the staggering costs of reconstruction.
- August 2, 1772 (Meiwa 9, 4th day of the 6th month): A terrible tempest hit the Kantō bringing floods and ruining crops.
- August 17, 1772 (Meiwa 9, 19th day of the 6th month): Another storm with more flooding and winds no less intense blew down an estimated 4000 houses in Edo alone.Hall, p. 120.
- 1772 (Meiwa 9): At the time, it was said that "Meiwa 9 is Year of Trouble" because it was marked by an extraordinary succession of natural calamities. The pun was made linking the words "Meiwa" + "ku" (meaning "Meiwa 9") and the sound-alike word "meiwaku" (meaning "misfortune" or "annoyance").
- 1772 (Meiwa 9, 11th month): The nengō was changed to Anei (meaning "eternal tranquillity"), but this symbolic act was proved futile.Hall, p. 169.
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- Hall, John Whitney. (1955). Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788: Forerunner of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/445621 OCLC 445621]
- Nara, Hiroshi. (2004). The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō." Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|9780824827359}}; {{ISBN|9780824828059}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/644791079 OCLC 644791079]
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48943301/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br OCLC 48943301]
- Screech, Timon. (2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=BLzQA7cpr7wC Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822.] London: RoutledgeCurzon. {{ISBN|978-0-203-09985-8}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65177072 OCLC 65177072]
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran Annales des empereurs du Japon.] Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5850691 OCLC 5850691].
External links
- Lexell's Comet: [http://cometography.com/pcomets/1770l1.html -- Comet ("D/1770 L1") is named after Lexell.]
- National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]
- Toyohara Chikanobu, Mirror of the Ages (Jidai Kagami): [http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cyw&CISOPTR=85 Meiwa no koro.]
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{{succession box
| before = {{nihongo|Hōreki|宝暦}}
| title = Era or nengō
{{nihongo|Meiwa|明和}}
| years = 1764–1772
| after = {{nihongo|An'ei|安永}}
}}
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{{Japanese era name}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiwa}}