Keichō

. [Tittsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du japon," pp. 402-409.]

Change of era

* 1596 nihongo|"Keichō gannen"|慶長元年: The era name was changed to "Keichō" to mark the passing of various natural disasters. The preceding era ended and a new one commenced on October 27th of the 5th "Bunroku".

Events of the "Keichō" era

* 1596 ("Keichō 1"): "Keichō" Invasion (invasion of Korea)
* 1598 ("Keichō 3, 18th day of the 8th month")': Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the "Taiko" died in his Fushimi Castle at the age of 63.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du japon," p. 405.]
* October 21, 1600 ("Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month"): Battle of Sekigahara. The Tokugawa clan and its allies decisively vanquish all opposition. [see above] ]
* January 15, 1602 ("Keichō 7, 24th day of the 11th month"): A fire at the Hōkō-ji temple complex in Kyoto was caused by careless workmen; and the great image of the buddha and the structure housing the statue (the Daibutsu-den) were consumed by the flames. [Ponsonby-Fane, R. (1956). "Kyoto, the Old Capital of Japan," p. 290; Titsingh, p. 409.]
* 1603 ("Keichō 8"): Tokugawa Ieyasu became Shogun, which effectively becomes the beginning of what will become the Edo "bakufu". Toyotomi Hideyori was elevated to Naidaijin in Miyako Daijō-kan.Titisngh, p. 409.]
* 1605 ("Keichō 10"): Tokugawa Hidetada was named successor Shogun after his father "retires" from the position of Shogun.
* 1605 ("Keichō 10"): The first official map of Japan was ordered in this year and completed in 1639 at a scale of 1:280,000. [Traganeou, Jilly. (2004). "The Tokaido Road: Traveling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan," p. 230.]
* January 23, 1605 ("Keichō 10, 15th day of the 12th month"): A new volcanic island, Hachijōko-jima, arose from the sea at the side of nihongo|Hachijō Island|八丈島,|"Hachijō-jima" in the nihongo|Izu Islands|伊豆諸島,|"Izu-shotō" which stretch south and east from the Izu Peninsula. [see above] ]
* 1606 ("Keichō 11"): Construction began on Edo Castle. [see above] ]
* 1607 ("Keichō 12"): Construction began on Suruga castle in Suruga; and an ambassador from China arrived with greetings for the emperor of Japan. [see above] ]
* 1609 ("Keichō 14"): Invasion of Ryukyu by Shimazu daimyo of Satsuma. [see above] ]
* November 15, 1610 ("Keichō 15, 30th day of the 9th month"): Toyotomi Hideyori sponsors work which is begun to rebuild the Hōkō-ji in line with the plans which his father had supported; and this will include recreating the Daibutsu of Kyoto in bronze to replace the wooden image which had been burned. At this time, Hideyori also decides to order a great bell cast in bronze. [Ponsonby-Fane, p. 292; Titsingh, p. 409.]
* May 20, 1610 ("Keichō 15, 27th day of the 3rd month"): Hideyori came to Kyoto to visit the former-Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu; and the same day, the emperor resigns in favor of his son Masahito. [see above] ] Emperor Go-Yozei abdicates; and his son receives the succession ("senso").
* 1611 ("Keichō 16"): Emperor Go-Mizunoo formally accedes to the throne ("sokui").
* 1613 ("Keichō 18"): In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura Tsunenaga headed a diplomatic mission to the Vatican in Rome, traveling through New Spain (arriving in Acapulco and departing from Veracruz) and visiting various ports-of-call in Europe. This historic mission is called the "Keichō" Embassy, _ja. 慶長使節). [In the name "Keichō" Embassy," the noun "Keichō" refers to the "nengō" (Japanese era name) after "Bunroku" and before "Genna"." In other words, the "Keichō" Embassy commenced during "Keichō", which was a time period spanning the years from 1596 through 1615.] On the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across Mexico in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manilla, and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/index.html Japan-Mexico Relations".] ] This is conventionally considered the first Japanese ambassador in the Americas and in Europe. [The "Keichō" Embassy was, in fact, preceded by a Sengoku period mission headed by Mancio Ito with Alessandro Valignano in 1582–1590. Although less well-known and less well-documented, this historic mission is sometimes referred to as the "Tenshō" Embassy" because it was initiated in the "Tenshō" era. This venture was organized by three "daimyo" of Western Japan -- Omura Sumitada, Otomo Sorin and Arima Harunobu.]
* 1614 ("Keichō 19"): Siege of Osaka. The Shogun vanquished Hideyori and set fire to Osaka Castle, and then he returned for the winter to Edo.Titsingh, p. 410.]
* August 24, 1614 ("Keichō 19, 19th day of the 7th month"): A new bronze bell for the Hōkō-ji was cast successfully [http://oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=4771 -- see 19th century photo of Hōkō-ji bell] [http://oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=3093 , and see old photo of bell] ; but despite dedication ceremony planning, Ieyasu forbade any further actions concerning the great bell:::" [T}he tablet over the Daibatsu-den and the bell bore the inscription "Kokka ankō" (meaning "the country and the house, peace and tranquility"), and at this Tokugawa Ieyasu affect to take umbrage, alleging that it was intended as a curse on him for the character 安 ("an," "peace") was placed between the two characters composing his own name 家康 ("ka-kō"," "house tranquility") [suggesting subtly perhaps that peace could only be attained by Ieyasu's dismemberment?] ... This incident of the inscription was, of course, a mere pretext, but Ieyasu realized that he could not enjoy the power he had usurped as long as Hideyori lived, and consequently, although the latter more than once dispatched his "kerei" Katagiri Kastumoto to Sunpu Castle with profuse apologies, Ieyasu refused to be placated." [Ponsonby-Fane, p. 292; Titsingh, p. 410.]
* October 18, 1614 ("Keichō 19, 25th day of the 10th month"): A strong earthquake shook Kyoto. [see above] ]
* 1615 ("Keichō 20"): Osaka Summer Battle begins.

Notes

References

* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). "Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869." Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
* Screech, Timon. (2006). "Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822." London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-700-71720-X
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652] , "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ... Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)]
* Traganeou, Jilly. (2004). "The Tokaido Road: Traveling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan." London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-4153-1091-1

External links

* National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]

Keichō	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Gregorian	1596	1597	1598	1599	1600	1601	1602	1603	1604	1605	1606	1607	1608	1609	1610	1611	1612	1613	1614	1615

Preceded by: "Bunroku"

Era or "nengō": Keichō

Succeeded by: "Genna"