or Medieval Showa was a after ''

Ōchō was a after ''Enkyō (Kamakura period), Enkyō'' and before ''Shōwa (first), Shōwa.'' This period spanned 11 months from April 1311 through February 1312. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1311 : The new era name was created to mark ...

'' and before '' Bunpō.'' This period spanned the years from March 1312 through February 1317. The reigning emperor was .

Etymology

The era name is derived from the ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kin ...

'', a

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...

work composed in AD 941–945. The first character is ''shō'' (正), meaning "proper, straight, true", while 和 (''wa'') means "peace," and may also

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on ''Wa'' (倭), an ancient name for Japan. The era name is pronounced like the Shōwa era of 1926–1989, but that era name is written with the character 昭 ("illustrious") for ''shō''.

Change of era

* 1311 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''Ōchō'' 2.

Events of the ''Shōwa'' era

Initially, former-

Emperor Fushimi was the 92nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1287 through 1298. Name Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was . Although the ...

administered the court up through the time he took the tonsure as a Buddhist monk. * 1313 (''Shōwa 2, 10th month''): Retired Emperor Fushimi shaved his head and became a Buddhist monk; and the power to administer the court of reigning Emperor Hanazono shifted to his adopted son, former-

Emperor Go-Fushimi was the 93rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1298 to 1301. This 13th-century sovereign was named after his father, Emperor Fushimi and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as ...

.Titsingh, p. 279. * 1314 (''Shōwa 3, 11th month''):

Hōjō Sadaaki was the 12th '' rensho'' (1315–1326) and 15th ''shikken'' (19 April 1326 – 29 April 1326) of the Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. ...

ended his role at

Rokuhara Tandai was the post of the chiefs of the Kamakura shogunate in Kyoto whose agency, the , kept responsibility for security in Kinai and judicial affairs on western Japan, and negotiated with the imperial court. Despite keeping security, the Rokuhara w ...

in Kyoto; and he returned to Kamakura.Titsingh, p. 280. * 1315 (''Shōwa 4, 7th month''):

Hōjō Hirotoki was the twelfth ''Shikken'' (1312–1315) of the Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia' ...

dies in Kamakura; and initially, Hōjō Sadaaki and

Hōjō Mototoki was the thirteenth ''Shikken'' (1315–1316) of the Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclope ...

share power. * 1315 (''Shōwa 4, 10th month''):

Hōjō Tokiatsu Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones *A nickname for Howard Jones *MGR-1 Honest John, the first nuclear-capable missile ...

assumes the role of Rokuhara Tandai in the capital city. * 1316 (''Shōwa 5, 7th month''):

, who is the son of

, takes on the role of

Shikken The was a titular post held by a member of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate, from 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, and so he was head of the ''bakufu'' (shogunate). It was part of the era referred to as . During rou ...

; and Hōjō Mototoki retires to a Buddhist monastery where he shaves his head.

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Odai Ichiran Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

''; 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, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fi ...

.
OCLC 6042764

External links

* National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar
-- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
Japanese eras 1310s in Japan {{Japan-era-stub