View source for Meiwa

{{Short description|Period of Japanese history (1764–1772)}}
{{other uses}}{{distinguish|Reiwa era}}
{{History of Japan |image=Shoso-in.jpg |caption=[[Shōsōin]]}}

{{nihongo|'''''Meiwa'''''|明和}} was a {{nihongo|[[Japanese era name]]|年号|''nengō''|"year name"}} after ''[[Hōreki]]'' and before ''[[An'ei]].'' This period spanned the years from June 1764 through November 1772.<ref>Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Meiwa''" {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 625|page=625}}; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'' [https://archive.today/20120524174828/http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File].</ref> The reigning empress and emperor were {{nihongo|[[Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan|Go-Sakuramachi]]''-tennō''|後桜町天皇}} and {{nihongo|[[Emperor Go-Momozono of Japan|Go-Momozono]]''-tennō''|後桃園天皇}}.<ref>Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran&pg=PP9  ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 419.]</ref>

==Change of era==
* '''1764''' {{nihongo|''Meiwa gannen''|明和元年}}: The era name became ''Meiwa'' (meaning "Bright Harmony") because of the enthronement of Empress [[Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan|Go-Sakuramachi]].

As a cultural phenomenon, the literature of this period records concerted attempts to distill the aggregate characteristics of the inhabitants of [[Edo]] (''Edokko'') into a generalized thumbnail description. These traits (''Edokko katagi'') were put into use to draw a contrast between Edokko and those who did not have this "sophisticated" gloss—those not from the city, as in merchants from the [[Kansai|Kyoto-Osaka]] region or [[samurai]] from distant provinces. Sometimes ''Edokko katagi'' was presented with pride; and it was used mockingly.<ref>Nara, Hiroshi. (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2PmiT_rrPGQC&q=The+Structure+of+Detachment:+the+Aesthetic+Vision+of+Kuki+Sh%C5%ABz%C5%8D+with+a+translation+of+%22Iki+no+k%C5%8Dz%C5%8D.%22  ''The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō,"'' p. 1.]</ref>

==Events==
* '''1765''' (''Meiwa 2''): Five-momme coin issued.
* '''1766''' (''Meiwa 3''): A planned insurrection to displace the Shōgun was thwarted.<ref>Screech, T. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BLzQA7cpr7wC&q=Secret+Memoirs+of+the+Shoguns:+Isaac+Titsingh+and+Japan,+1779-1822  ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822.'' pp. 139]-145.</ref>
* '''1768''' (''Meiwa 5''): Five-momme usage halted.
* '''1770''' (''Meiwa 7''): A typhoon flattened the newly built Imperial Palace in Kyoto.<ref name="h120">Hall, John. (1955). ''Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788'', p. 120.</ref>
* '''1770''' (''Meiwa 7''): A great comet ([[Lexell's Comet]]) with a very long tail lit up the night skies throughout the summer and autumn.<ref name="h120"/>
* '''1770''' (''Meiwa 7''): Although no one could have known it at the time, this was the first of 15 consecutive years of drought in Japan.<ref name="h120"/>
* '''April 1, 1772''' (''Meiwa 9, 29th day of the 2nd month'')<!-- NengoCalc 明和九年二月二十九日 -->: "The Great ''Meiwa'' Fire"—one of the three greatest Edo fire disasters. Unofficial reports describe a swath of ashes and cinders nearly five miles wide and {{convert|15|mi|km}} long—destroying 178 temples and shrines, 127 daimyō residences, 878 non-official residences, 8705 houses of [[Bannerman (samurai)|bannermen]], and 628 blocks of merchant dwellings, with estimates of over 6,000 casualties. All this devastation subsequently engendered the staggering costs of reconstruction.<ref name="h120"/>
* '''August 2, 1772''' (''Meiwa 9, 4th day of the 6th month'')<!-- NengoCalc 明和九年七月四日 -->: A terrible tempest hit the Kantō bringing floods and ruining crops.<ref name="h120"/>
* '''August 17, 1772''' (''Meiwa 9, 19th day of the 6th month'')<!-- NengoCalc 明和九年七月十九日 -->: Another storm with more flooding and winds no less intense blew down an estimated 4000 houses in Edo alone.<ref>Hall, p. 120.</ref>
* '''1772''' (''Meiwa 9''): At the time, it was said that "''Meiwa'' 9 is Year of Trouble" because it was marked by an extraordinary succession of natural calamities. The pun was made linking the words ''"Meiwa"'' + ''"ku"'' (meaning "''Meiwa'' 9") and the sound-alike word ''"meiwaku"'' (meaning "misfortune" or "annoyance").<ref name="h120"/>
* '''1772''' (''Meiwa 9,  11th month''): The ''nengō'' was changed to ''Anei'' (meaning "eternal tranquillity"), but this symbolic act was proved futile.<ref>Hall, p. 169.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[John Whitney Hall|Hall, John Whitney]]. (1955). ''Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788: Forerunner of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge: [[Harvard University Press]]. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/445621  OCLC  445621]
* Nara, Hiroshi. (2004). ''The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō."'' Honolulu: [[University of Hawaii Press]]. {{ISBN|9780824827359}}; {{ISBN|9780824828059}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/644791079  OCLC 644791079]
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge: [[Harvard University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48943301/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br OCLC 48943301]
* [[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|978-0-203-09985-8}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65177072 OCLC 65177072]
* [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac.]] (1834). ''[[Nihon Odai Ichiran]]''; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran  ''Annales des empereurs du Japon.'']  Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5850691 OCLC 5850691].

== External links ==
* [[Lexell's Comet]]: [http://cometography.com/pcomets/1770l1.html -- Comet ("D/1770 L1") is named after Lexell.]
* [[National Diet Library]], "The Japanese Calendar" [https://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]
* [[Toyohara Chikanobu]], ''Mirror of the Ages'' (''Jidai Kagami''): [http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cyw&CISOPTR=85  ''Meiwa no koro.'']

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = {{nihongo|[[Hōreki]]|宝暦}}
| title = [[Japanese era name|Era or ''nengō'']]<br>{{nihongo|Meiwa|明和}}
| years = 1764–1772
| after = {{nihongo|[[An'ei]]|安永}}
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Japanese era name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiwa}}
[[Category:Japanese eras]]
[[Category:1760s in Japan]]
[[Category:1770s in Japan]]
[[Category:1764 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1760s neologisms]]