- Kansei
nihongo|Kansei|寛政 was a nihongo|Japanese era name|年号,|"nengō",|lit. "
year name" after "Tenmei " and before "Kyōwa." This period spanned the years from1789 through1801 . The reigning emperor was nihongo|Kōkaku"-tennō"|光格天皇.Change of era
*;
January 25 ,1789 : The new era name of " Kansei" (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-minded Government") was created to mark a number of calamities including a devastating fire at the Imperial Palace. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in "Tenmei" 9, on the 25th day of the 1st month.Events of the "Kansei" era
The broad panoply of changes and new initiatives of the
Tokugawa shogunate during this era became known as the "Kansei" Reforms.Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759-1929) was named the shogun's chief councilor ("rōjū") in the summer of 1787; and early in the next year, he became the regent for the 11th shogun,Tokugawa Ienari . [Totman, Conrad. "Politics in the Tokugawa Bakufu". Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988, p. 224] As the chief administrative decision-maker in the "bakufuan" hierarchy, he was in a position to effect radical change; and his initial actions represented an aggressive break with the recent past. Sadanobu's efforts were focused on strengthening the Edo government by reversing many of the policies and practices which had become commonplace under the regime of the previous shogun,Tokugawa Ieharu . These reform policies could be interpreted as a reactionary response to the excesses of his "rōjū" predecessor,Tanuma Okitsugu (1719-1788); [Hall, J. (1955). "Tanuma Okitsugu: Forerunner of Modern Japan, 1719-1788." pp. 131-142.] and the result was that Tanuma-initiated, liberalizing reforms within the "bakufu" and relaxing the strictures of "sakoku " (Japan's "closed-door policy of excluding all foreigners) were reversed or blocked. [Screech, T. (2006). "Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822," pp. 148-151, 163-170, 248.]* "Kansei 2" (
1790 ): The shogunate issues an edict addressed toHayashi Kinpō , the rector of the Edo Confucian Academy -- "The Kansei Prohibition of Heterodox Studies" ("kansei igaku no kin"). [Nosco, Peter. (1997). "Confucianism and Tokugawa Culture," p. 20.]
* "Kansei 10" (1798 ): "Kansei" Calendar RevisionNotes
References
* Hall, John Whitney. (1955). "
Tanuma Okitsugu : Forerunner of Modern Japan, 1719-1788." Cambridge:Harvard University Press .
* Screech, Timon. (2006). "Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns:Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822." London:RoutledgeCurzon . ISBN 0-7007-1720-X
* Totman, Conrad. (1967). "Politics in the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1600-1843". Cambridge:Harvard University Press . ISBN 0-6746-8800-7 [reprinted byUniversity of California Press , Berkely, 1988. ISBN 0-5200-6313-9]
* Nosco, Peter. (1997). "Confucianism and Tokugawa Culture." Honolulu:University of Hawaii Press . ISBN 0-8248-1865-2External links
* National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]
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