was a after the ''Taika'' era and before Shuchō. This period spanned the years from February 650 through December 654.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hakuchi''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File
. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).

History

The era began in 650, the sixth year of the '' Taika'' era, which was thus known as .Brown, Delmer ''et al.''. (1979). '' Gukanshō'', p. 267. The ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of

Nagato Province , often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces. History Although the ancient capital of the province was Shimono ...

brought a white

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

to the court as a gift for the emperor. This white pheasant was then construed as a good

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages ...

. 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 The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Sadaijin'' in the context of a cent ...

'' and the ''

udaijin was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 701. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Udaijin'' in the context of a central administrat ...

'' to join him in admiring the rare bird; and on this occasion, the emperor caused the ''

nengō The or , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

'' to be changed to ''Hakuchi'' (meaning "white pheasant").Titsingh
p. 49.
/ref> In Japan, this was the second

, derived from the Chinese system of eras ('' nianhao''); although some scholarly doubt has been cast on the authenticity of ''Taika'' and ''Hakuchi'' as historically legitimate era names.

Timeline

The system of Japanese era names was not the same as Imperial reign dates.

Events of the ''Hakuchi'' era

* 650 (''Hakuchi 1''): Kōtoku commanded that all prisoners were to be granted liberty throughout the country. * 654 (''Hakuchi 5, 1st month''): A great number of rats moved into the province of ''Yamato''; and this was construed as a sign that the capital should be moved. * 654 (''Hakuchi 5''): Kōtoku died at the age of 59 after a reign of 10 years—five years during ''Taika'', and five years during ''Hakuchi''.Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki'', p. 133; Titsingh
p. 50.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Bialock, David T. (2007). ''Eccentric Spaces, Hidden Histories: Narrative, Ritual, and Royal Authority from the Chronicles of Japan to the Tale of the Heike.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press.
OCLC 237216457
* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.''
Berkeley: University of California Press.
OCLC 251325323
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
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 58053128
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Odai Ichiran Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in t ...

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa.'' New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

.
OCLC 6042764

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hakuchi Japanese eras 650s 7th century in Japan 7th-century neologisms