The , also spelled as Kangi famine, was a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

which affected Japan during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. The famine is considered to have begun in 1229/1230 and lasted until 1231/1232. It was named after the

Kangi , also romanized as Kanki, was a after ''Antei'' and before '' Joei.'' This period spanned the years from March 1229 to April 1232. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1229 : The era name was changed to mark an event or a number of eve ...

era (1229–1232), during the reign of

Emperor Go-Horikawa (22 March 1212 – 31 August 1234) was the 86th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1221 through 1232. This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 11th-century Emperor Horika ...

. The shogun of Japan was

Kujō Yoritsune , also known as , was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan. His father was '' kanpaku'' Kujō Michiie and his grandmother was a niece of Minamoto no Yoritomo. His wife was a granddaughter of Yoritomo and daughter of Minamo ...

. The famine was severe throughout Japan. It was caused by cold weather caused probably by volcanic eruptions, coupled later with a general breakdown of society. The early 1200s were a cold period in Japan, especially from 1225–1228. In 1229, it seems a failed harvest followed a drought, resulting in a shortage of food. As the excessive rains, The lack of sunlight caused cold so severe, winter clothing was necessary in spring and summer. The relief efforts by Emperor and Shogunate were generally ineffective,

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

was legalized in 1231, The social order broke down, and bands of marauding robbers (including former Buddhist monks) became common. The strife spilled even to

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

, as starving residents of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

raided coastal towns for food. Overall, meaning the Kanki famine may be the worst in Japanese history. In the same years, the great famine also struck

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

References

This page is based on Japanese Wikipedia page 寛喜の飢饉, accessed 16 July 2019. Famines in Japan Natural disasters in Japan 1230s in Japan 1230 in Asia 1231 in Asia 13th-century disasters Medieval famines {{Japan-hist-stub

See also

References