was a after ''

Man'en was a after '' Ansei'' and before ''Bunkyū''. This period spanned the years from March 1860 through February 1861. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * March 18, 1860 (): The new era name was created to mark the destruction caused by a ...

'' and before '' Genji''. This period spanned the years from March 1861 through March 1864. The reigning

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

was .

Change of era

* March 29, 1861 (''Man'en 2/Bunkyū 1, 19th day of the 2nd month'') : The new era name of ''Bunkyū'' (meaning "Literate Story") was created because of a belief drawn from

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar. Chinese astrology flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theor ...

that the 58th year of any zodiacal cycle brings great changes. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in ''Man'en'' 2.

Events of the ''Bunkyū'' era

* 1861 (''Bunkyu 1''):

Ukai Gyokusen was a pioneering Japanese photographer. Although he is much less well known than his contemporaries Shimooka Renjō and Ueno Hikoma, he is important for being the first Japanese professional photographer, having established a photographic studio ...

established the first commercial photography studio (''Eishin-dō'') in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

. * January 1862 (''Bunkyū 1, 12th month''): The

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

(''Ogasawara'' Islands) are re-confirmed as a territory of Japan, following up "discovery" of the islands in ''

Kanbun ''Kanbun'' ( 'Han Chinese, Han writing') is a system for writing Literary Chinese used in Japan from the Nara period until the 20th century. Much of Japanese literature was written in this style and it was the general writing style for offici ...

'' 10 (1670) and a shogunate expedition to the islands in ''

Enpō (contemporarily written as 延寳) is the after ''Kanbun'' and before '' Tenna.'' This period spanned the years from September 1673 to September 1681. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1673 : The new era of ''Enpō'' (meaning "Prolon ...

'' 3 (1675). * 1862 (''Bunkyū 2''): The

Bunkyū Reforms was a after ''Man'en'' and before ''Genji (era), Genji''. This period spanned the years from March 1861 through March 1864. The reigning Emperor of Japan, emperor was . Change of era * March 29, 1861 (''Man'en 2/Bunkyū 1, 19th day of the 2nd ...

relax restrictions on ''daimyōs'' which had been imposed by former

Tairō ''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...

Ii Naosuke was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Hikone (1850–1860) and also '' Tairō'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his assassination in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous ...

in the

Ansei was a after '' Kaei'' and before ''Man'en''. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * November 27, 1854 (): The new era name of ''Ansei'' (meaning "tranquil government ...

era.Jansen, Marius. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan,'' p. 296. * September 14, 1862 (''Bunkyū 2, 21st day of the 8th month''):

Namamugi Incident The , also known as the Kanagawa incident and Richardson affair, was a political crisis that occurred in the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the ''Bakumatsu'' on 14 September 1862. Charles Lennox Richardson, a British merchant, was killed by ...

. Satsuma retainers kill English merchant

Charles Lennox Richardson Charles Lennox Richardson (16 April 1833 – 14 September 1862) was a British merchant based in Shanghai, Qing Empire who was killed in Japan during the Namamugi Incident. His middle name is spelled ''Lenox'' in the census and family documents. ...

at Namamugi on the Tōkaidō road. * April 22, 1863 (''Bunkyū 3, 5th day of the 3rd month''): ''Shōgun'' Iemochi travelled in a great procession to the capital. He had been summoned by the emperor, and had 3,000 retainers as escort. This was the first time that a ''shōgun'' had visited Heian-kyō since the visit of Iemitsu in ''

Kan'ei was a after '' Genna'' and before ''Shōhō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644. The reigning emperors and single empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./re ...

'' 11 (1634) – 230 years before.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869'', p. 325. * April 28, 1863 (''Bunkyū 3, 11th day of the 3rd month''): Emperor Komei made an Imperial progress to the Kamo Shrines. He was accompanied by the ''shōgun'', all the principal officials and many feudal lords. This was the first Imperial progress since

Emperor Go-Mizunoo , posthumously honored as , was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and he was the first emperor to reign entirely d ...

visited

Nijō Castle is a flatland Japanese castle, castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area ...

more than 230 years before; and no Emperor had visited Kamo since

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...

honored both shrines in ''

Kenmu was a Japanese era name of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after '' Shōkei'' and before '' Ryakuō.'' Although Kemmu is understood by the Southern Court as having begun at the same time, the era was construe ...

'' 1 (1334). * April 29, 1863 (''Bunkyū 3, 12th day of the 3rd month''): In the early morning,

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princ ...

accepts under its patronage the men of the Rōshigumi, who went on to form the

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

. * May 2, 1863 (''Bunkyū 3, 15th day of the 3rd month''): The Rōshigumi men who were taken under Aizu patronage go to Konkaikōmyōji Temple to make their first formal, public appearance, and pay their respects to their new patron,

Matsudaira Katamori Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He ...

. As Katamori is unavailable, they are instead met by two of his senior retainers. * August 15–17, 1863 (''Bunkyū 3, 2nd-4th of the 7th month''):

Bombardment of Kagoshima The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , was a military engagement fought between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain and the Satsuma Domain in Kagoshima from 15 to 17 August 1863. The British were attempting to extract ...

in retaliation for the

Notes

References

* Jansen, Marius B. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 44090600
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge:

.
OCLC 48943301
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956)
''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869''.
Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society. * Satow, Ernest Mason and Baba Bunyei. (1905)
''Japan 1853–1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari''.
Tokyo: . * Tanaka, Hiroyuki

''Kaiji Shi Kenkyuu'' (''Journal of the Maritime History''). No. 50, June, 1993, Tokyo: The Japan Society of the History of Maritime.

External links

National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...

, ''The Japanese Calendar'
– historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
* ''Bunkyū'' 3 procession of Shogun towards Kyot

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunkyu Japanese eras 1860s in Japan 1861 establishments in Japan 1861 introductions 1860s disestablishments in Japan 1860s neologisms

Change of era

Events of the ''Bunkyū'' era

See also

Notes

References

External links