Hakuchi (era)
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Hakuchi (白雉?) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō,?, lit. "year name") after the Taika era and before a late 7th century gap in the sequence of nengō which would stretch uninterrupted from the proclaimation of the new era Taihō at the beginning of the 8th century. This period spanned the years from 650 through 655. The reigning emperor was Kōtoku-tennō (孝徳天皇?).[1]
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[edit] Change of era
- Hakuchi gannen (白雉元年?); 650: The Hakuchi era began in the sixth year of the Taika era.[2] The daimyo of Nagato province brought a white pheasant to the court as a gift for the emperor. This white pheasant was then construed as a good omen. Emperor Kōtoku was extraordinarily pleased by this special avian rarity, and he wanted the entire court to see this white bird for themselves. He commanded a special audience in which he could formally invite the sadaijin and the udaijin to join him in admiring the rare bird; and on this occasion, the emperor caused the nengō to be changed to Hakuchi (meaning "white pheasant").[1]
[edit] Events of the Hakuchi era
- Hakuchi 1 (650): Kōtoku commanded that all prisoners were to be granted liberty throughout the country.[1]
- Hakuchi 5, in the 1st month (654): A great number of rats moved into the province of Yamato; and this was construed as a sign that the capital should be moved.[2]
- Hakuchi 5 (654): Kōtoku died at the age of 59 after a reign of 10 years -- five years during Taika, and five years during Hakuchi.[3]
[edit] References
- Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220], 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.... Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)
- Varley, H. Paul, ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 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
[edit] External links
- National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
| Hakuchi | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| Gregorian | 650 | 651 | 652 | 653 | 654 | 655 |
| Preceded by Taika |
Era or nengō Hakuchi |
Succeeded by Shuchō |
| Sovereign/tennō's reign -- non-nengō --- | Succeeded by Saimei period |
