Jitō (period)

The years of Emperor Jitō's reign or the "Jitō" ( _ja. 持統) period should not be misunderstood as a Japanese era name (年号, "nengō", lit. year name). The nengō system which was introduced in reign of Emperor Kotoku was abandoned at the end of his reign, and the era name was not updated for a quite some time, except for very brief re-occurrence near the close of Emperor Temmu's reign. ::"For further discussion, see ."

During the years after Emperor Kōtoku, the reigning sovereigns were Saimei"-tennō" (斉明天皇), then Tenji"-tennō" (天智天皇), then Kōbun"-tennō" (弘文天皇), then Temmu"-tennō" (天武天皇), and then Jitō"-tennō" (持統天皇). [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du Japon," pp. 30-58.] The first year of Empress Jitō's rule (持統天皇元年; 686) could be arguably abbreviated as "the first year of Jitō" (持統元年; 686), but this is nowhere understood as a true nengō. The reigns of Japanese emperors and empresses are not nengō, nor were the two considered to be the same until Meiji came on the scene.

References to the emperors who ruled during this period are properly written as, for example, :*"the 3rd year of Jitō" (持統天皇３年), and :*not "Jitō 3" (持統３年).Nengō were abolished during the interregnum years between Hakuchi and Shuchō, and again between Shuchō and Taihō.

:*The commonly accepted pre-"Tahiō nengō" are::*"Taika": 645.6.19–650.2.15:*"Hakuchi": 650.2.15–654.10.?:**GAP/interregnum:*"Shuchō": 686.7.20–686.9.?:**GAP/interregnum:*"Taihō": 701.3.21–704.5.10

Non"-nengō" period

* "1st year of Jitō's reign" (持統天皇元年; 686): A new period is marked by the beginning of the reign of Empress Jitō, but the end of the previous nengō Hakuchi 6 (654) does not imply the commencement of a new nengō in the succeeding reigns.

Events of the Jitō period

* "Jitō 1" (686): Emperor Temmu dies, but his son and heir was deemed too young to receive the succession ("senso"). Instead, the mother of the heir succeeds the Chrysanthemum Throne ("senso") as Empress Jitō until her son would grow mature enough to accept "senso" and "sokui". [Varley, H. Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki," p. 44. [A distinct act of "senso" is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have "senso" and "sokui" in the same year until the reign of Go-Murakami.] ]
* "Jitō 3" (688): Prince Kusakabe, Empress Jitō's son, dies at age of 27.
* "Jitō 4" (689): Empress Jitō formally acceeds the Chrysanthemum Throne ("sokui") on the first month, first day.
* "Jitō 11" (697): Prince Karu, the Empress' grandson, is made the Heir Apparent on the second month, 16th day. The Empress gets sick. She abdicates the Chrysanthemum Throne in favor of Prince Karu on the eighth month, first day.

Empress Jitō distributed rice to the aged throughout the years of her reign. [Titsingh, p. 60.]

References

Notes

Further reading

* Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida, eds. (1979). "Gukanshō; "The Future and the Past: a translation and study of the 'Gukanshō,' an interpretive history of Japan written in 1219" translated from the Japanese and edited by Delmer M. Brown & Ichirō Ishida." Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
* 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 --"Two digitized examples of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitized January 30, 2007; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitized June 23, 2006." Click here to read the original text in French.]
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chitafusa, 1359] , "Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley)." New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4

External links

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