Genbun

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Genbun (元文?) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō,?, lit. "year name") after Kyōhō and before Kanpō. This period spanned the years from 1736 through 1741. The reigning emperor was Sakuramachi-tennō (桜町天皇?).[1]

Contents

[edit] Change of era

  • Genbun gannen (元文元年?); 1736: To mark the enthronement of Sakuramachi, the era was changed to Gembun (meaning "Original civility"). The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Kyōhō 21, on the 21st day of the 4th month.

[edit] Events of the Genbun era

  • Genbun 1 1736: The shogunate published an edict declaring that henceforth, the sole, authorized coinage in the empire would be those copper coins which were marked n the obverse with the character 文 (pronounced bun in Japanese or pronounced wen in Chinese -- which is to say, the same character which is found in this era name of Genbun.[2]
  • Genbun 2, in the 11th month (1737): A comet is noticed in the western part of the sky.[2]
  • Genbun 3 (1738): Esoteric Shinto rituals Daijō-ye (大嘗會, ダイジヤウヱ,?, Daijō-sai) were performed by the emperor.[2]
  • Genbun 4 (1739): Some foundrymen in Edo are commanded to create iron coins for use across the empire.[2]
  • Genbun 4 (1739): Hosokawa Etchū-no-kami of Higo was killed in Edo castle by Itakura Katsukane, and the killer was ordered to commit suicide as just punishment; however, Shogun Yoshimune personally intervened to mitigate the adverse consequences for the killer's fudai family.[3]
  • Genbun 5, on the 16th day of the 7th month (August 8, 1740): Great floods in Heian-kyō. Sanjo Bridge is washed away.[4]
  • Genbun 5, on the 24th day of the 11th month (January 11, 1741): The esoteric Niiname-matsuri ceremonies were performed. This specific ceremony had otherwise been held in abeyance for the previous 280 years.[4]
  • Genbun 5, on the 25th day of the 11th month (January 12, 1741: The esoteric Toyonoakari-no-sechiye ceremonies were performed.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 417-418.
  2. ^ a b c d Titsingh, p. 418.
  3. ^ Screech, Timon. (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822, pp. 117-121,
  4. ^ a b c Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869, p. 321.


[edit] External links

Genbun 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Gregorian 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741
Preceded by
Kyōhō		 Era or nengō
Genbun
1736 – 1741		 Succeeded by
Kanpō


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