View source for Kan'ei

{{Short description|Period of Japanese history (1624–1644)}}
{{History of Japan |image=Shoso-in.jpg |caption=[[Shōsōin]]}}

{{nihongo|'''Kan'ei'''|寛永}} was a {{nihongo|[[Japanese era name]]|年号|''nengō''|"year name"}} after ''[[Genna]]'' and before ''[[Shōhō]].''  This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644.<ref>Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kan'ei''" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA468&dq=  ''Japan encyclopedia'', p. 468]; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'' [http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120524174828/http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 |date=2012-05-24 }}.</ref> The reigning emperors and single empress were {{nihongo|[[Emperor Go-Mizunoo|Go-Mizunoo]]''-tennō''|後水尾天皇}}, {{nihongo|[[Empress Meishō|Meishō]]''-tennō''|明正天皇}} and {{nihongo|[[Emperor Go-Komyo|Go-Kōmyō]]''-tennō''|後光明天皇}}.<ref name="t411">Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA411,M1  ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411.]</ref>

==Change of era==
* '''1624''' {{nihongo|''Kan'ei gannen''|寛永元年}}: The era name was changed to mark the start of a new cycle of the [[Chinese astrology|Chinese zodiac]]. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in ''Genna'' 9, on the 30th day of the 2nd month. This era name is derived from '''寛'''広、'''永'''長 (meaning "Broad Leniency, Eternal Leader").

== Events ==

* '''1624''' (''Kan'ei 1''): Construction of the Hōei-zan temple began.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''November 4, 1626''' (''Kan'ei 3, 16th day of the 9th month'')<!-- NengoCalc 寛永三年九月十六日 -->: [[Emperor Go-Mizunoo]] and the empress visited [[Nijō Castle]]; they were accompanied by Princes of the Blood, palace ladies and ''[[kuge]]''. Among the precedents for this was the [[Tenshō (Momoyama period)|Tenshō]] era visit of [[Emperor Go-Yōzei]] to [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]'s extravagant [[Heian-kyō]] mansion, [[Juraku-dai]] (which Hideyoshi himself would tear down in the 12th month of [[Bunroku]] 2).<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, p. 317.</ref>
* '''1626'''  (''Kan'ei 3''): The first ''[[Kan'ei Tsūhō]]'' (寛永通寳) cash coins were introduced in the [[Mito Domain]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/roberts/coins/Kaneibasics.html|title= Basics of distinguishing Kan'ei coins.|date=24 October 2003|access-date=16 June 2017|work= Luke Roberts at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara|Department of History - University of California at Santa Barbara]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>Shizuoka Izumika comp., Anasen Nyuumon Kan'ei Tsuuhou: Shin Kan'ei no bu (Shoshinkan: [[Tokyo]], 1997). (in [[Japanese language|Japanese]])</ref>
* '''1629''' (''Kan'ei 6''): The {{nihongo|"[[Purple Robe Incident]]"|紫衣事件,|''shi-e jiken''}}—the Emperor was accused of having bestowed honorific purple garments to more than ten priests despite the shōgun's edict which banned them for two years (probably in order to break the bond between the Emperor and religious circles). The shogunate intervened making the bestowing of the garments invalid.
* '''December 22, 1629''' ( ''Kan'ei 6, 8th day of the 11th month'')<!-- NengoCalc 寛永六年十一月八日-->: The emperor renounced the throne in favor of his daughter, [[Empress Meishō|Kyōshi]]<ref name="t411"/>
* '''March 14, 1632''' (''Kan'ei 9, 24th day of the 1st month'')<!-- NengoCalc 寛永九年一月二十四日 -->: Former Shōgun Hidetada died.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''February 28, 1633''' (''Kan'ei 10, 20th day of the 1st month'')<!-- NengoCalc 寛永十年一月二十日 -->: There was an earthquake in Odawara in the Sagami.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''1634''' (''Kan'ei 11, 7th month''): Shōgun [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]] appeared at Court in Miyako; and he visited ex-emperor Go-Mizunoo.<ref>Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA411,M1  p. 411]; Ponsonby-Fane, p. 317; compare with April 22, 1863 (''[[Bunkyū]] 3, 5th day of the 3rd month''): Shogun [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] came to the capital and had an audience. This was the first time since the visit of Iemitsu in ''Kan'ei'' 11, 230 years before, that a shogun had visited Heian-kyō. In ''Bunkyō'' 3, Iemochi was summoned by the [[Emperor Kōmei]]; and when he traveled from Edo to the capital, the shogun had 3,000 retainers as escort. (Ponsonby-Fane, p. 325.)</ref> Later, on the 22nd day of the 9th month was held at [[Fukiage Palace]] the famous martial arts tournament of 12 bout, organized by Shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, and held in the presence of the visiting Emperor. It entered in History under the name of ''Kan'ei Jōran Jiai'' and was judged by the two Kenjutsu instructor of the Shōgun. 
* '''1635''' (''Kan'ei 12''): An ambassador from the King of Korea was received in Heian-kyō.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''1636'''  (''Kan'ei 13''): The ''Kan'ei Tsūhō'' became the new standard [[Japanese mon (currency)|copper cash coin]] of Japan.
* '''1637''' (''Kan'ei 14''): There was a major [[Shimabara Rebellion|Christian rebellion]] in Arima and Shimabara; shogunal forces are sent to quell the disturbance.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''1638''' (''Kan'ei 15''): The Christian revolt was crushed; and 37,000 of the rebels are killed. The Christian religion is extirpated in Japan.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''1640''' (''Kan'ei 17''): A Spanish ship from Macao brought a delegation of 61 people to Nagasaki. They arrived on July 6, 1640; and on August 9, all of them were decapitated and their heads were stuck on poles.<ref name="t411"/>
* '''1640-1643''' (''Kan'ei 17-20''): [[Kan'ei Great Famine]] forces an agricultural reform giving a greater independence to the farmers and the reduction of military spendings.
* '''1643''' (''Kan'ei 20''): An ambassador from the [[Joseon|King of Korea]] arrived in Heian-kyō.<ref name="t412">Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA412,M1  p. 412.]</ref>
* '''November 10, 1643''' (''Kan'ei 20, 29th day of the 9th month'')<!-- NengoCalc  寛永二十年九月二十九日 -->: In the 15th year of Empress Meishō's reign (明正天皇15年), the empress abdicated; and the succession (''senso'') was received by her brother.<ref name="t412v44">Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA412,M1  p. 412]; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki'', p. 44; a distinct act of ''senso'' is unrecognized prior to [[Emperor Tenji]]; and all sovereigns except [[Empress Jitō|Jitō]], [[Emperor Yōzei|Yōzei]], [[Emperor Go-Toba|Go-Toba]], and [[Emperor Fushimi|Fushimi]] have ''senso'' and ''sokui'' in the same year until the reign of [[Emperor Go-Murakami|Go-Murakami]].</ref>
* '''December 15, 1643''' (''Kan'ei 20, 5th day of the 11th month'')<!-- NengoCalc 寛永二十年十一月五日  -->: [[Emperor Go-Kōmyō]] acceded to the throne (''sokui'').<ref name="t412v44"/>
[[File:Enthronement_of_Empress_Meishō1.png|alt=<nowiki>The Enthronement of [[Empress Meishō]]</nowiki>|center|thumb|350x350px|The Enthronement of [[Empress Meishō]].]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge: [[Harvard University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-674-01753-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}. {{OCLC|48943301}}.
* [[Richard Ponsonby-Fane|Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon]] (1956). ''Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. {{OCLC|182637732}}.
* [[Timon Screech|Screech, Timon]] (2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=BLzQA7cpr7wC ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822'']. London: [[RoutledgeCurzon]]. {{ISBN|0203099850}}, {{ISBN|9780203099858}}. {{OCLC|65177072}}.
* [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac]] (1834). ''[[Nihon Ōdai Ichiran]]''; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ ''Annales des empereurs du Japon'']. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. {{OCLC|5850691}}.
{{-}}

==External links==
* [[National Diet Library]], "The Japanese Calendar" [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]
* [[Bank of Japan]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080224030124/http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/feature_gra1-7.htm  ''Kan'ei Tsuho''],  ''Bunsen'' (copper coin = one [[Japanese mon (currency)|mon]])

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = {{nihongo|[[Genna]]|元和}}
| title = [[Japanese era name|Era or ''nengō'']]<br>{{nihongo|Kan'ei|寛永}}
| years = 1624–1644
| after = {{nihongo|[[Shōhō]]|正保}}
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Japanese era name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanei}}
[[Category:Japanese eras]]
[[Category:1620s in Japan]]
[[Category:1630s in Japan]]
[[Category:1640s in Japan]]
[[Category:17th-century neologisms]]