The Kanshō famine (長禄・寛正の飢饉, Chōroku-kanshō no kikin), was a famine which affected mostly western Japan from 1459 to 1461 (or

Chōroku was a after ''Kōshō'' and before ''Kanshō.'' This period spanned the years from September 1457 through December 1460. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1457 : The era name was changed to mark an event or a number of events. The old ...

-3 to

Kanshō was a after ''Chōroku'' and before ''Bunshō.'' This period spanned from December 1460 through February 1466. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1460 : The era name was changed to mark an event or a number of events. The old er ...

-2, in the

Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with t ...

.), during the reign of

Emperor Go-Hanazono (July 10, 1418 – January 18, 1471) was the 102nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後花園天皇 (102) retrieved 2013-8-28. His reign spanned the years from 1428 throu ...

in the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

. The ruling shōgun during the famine was

Ashikaga Yoshimasa Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

. The number of deaths from

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

was at least 82,000.

Causes

The ongoing conflict in the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

following

Kyōtoku Incident was a after '' Hōtoku'' and before ''Kōshō.'' This period spanned the years from July 1452 through July 1455. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1452 : The era name was changed to mark an event or a number of events. The old era en ...

in 1454, plus general incompetence in the administration of

leading up to the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei ...

contributed to poor agricultural production and a sluggish response to the famine, greatly increasing its death toll.

Famine

A general drought in Japan began in March 1459. It ended in September 1459 with a severe typhoon, flooding the

Kamo River The is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are walkways running alongside the river, and some stepping ...

and causing major damage. Rare astronomical phenomena were reported, including

sun dog A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, also called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° ...

s and a meteor colliding with the moon, possibly connected to the Little Ice Age.古気候復元データと古文書データを比較する
/ref> Taking an opportunity, rebels has got additional footholds in November 1459.

did not take any action, as he was completely obsessed with building a new shogunal residence, the . The

requested an emergency response, but was ignored. The drought continued on a smaller scale until May 1460, while damage from local floods and fighting (particularly between

Hatakeyama Masanaga was a ''daimyō'' of the Hatakeyama clan and, according to some accounts, invented the '' horo'', a stiffened cloak used by messengers and bodyguards to improve their visibility on the battlefield, and to act as an arrow-catcher. Masanaga is mos ...

and

Hatakeyama Yoshinari was a Japanese samurai and feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Muromachi period (early 15th century), who is most known for his rivalry with Hatakeyama Masanaga over the position of Kanrei, or Shōgun's Deputy. This rivalry grew out of the larger ...

), resulted in trade disruption in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. The rice import ceased, which caused a severe shortage of food. In particular, the

Katsura River The is a continuation of two other rivers, the Hozu River, a small, speedy river which begins in the mountains near Kameoka and then slithers through the mountains separating Kameoka and Kyoto; and the Ōi River (大堰川 ''Ōi-gawa''), whi ...

flooded, while there was fighting for water in

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places and organizations * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama, Toyama, the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, ...

between temple priests and peasants was reported. By end of May 1460, a period of abnormally low temperatures and heavy rains began, and continued to the end of June. Even

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...

flooded, submerging large parts of

Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the '' Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countr ...

, and causing population flight and the outbreak of plague among the refugees. Wet conditions resulted in insect proliferation, and the swarm of locusts took off in autumn of 1460, further devastating rice paddies. By February 1461, the hunger deaths in

had reached 82,000 and corpses dammed the

. On 22 January 1461,

finally took action and ordered the monk from

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

to handle the famine. A free kitchen providing meals of

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

meals was established in February 1461 at the southern entrance of

Rokkaku-dō The , official name , is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, said to have been established by Prince Shōtoku. The name comes from its main hall's hexagonal shape. This temple is part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. History Rokkaku-dō is beli ...

, using charity funds from wealthy Kyoto citizens. The funding was exhausted in a month though. Similar action was forbidden by the leadership of

Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school of Buddhism bas ...

temple, resulting in disobedience by

Rennyo Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (head priest) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He w ...

from

Hongan-ji , also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple bu ...

Aftermath of the famine

The destruction of

in 1465 was the continuation of the debate started during ''Kanshō famine''. Also,

which broke out in 1467, was partially fueled by the displayed Shogunate ineptness during the ''Kanshō famine''.

Notes and references

This article incorporates material from the article 長禄・寛正の飢饉 in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on 11 July 2017.

Causes

Famine

Aftermath of the famine

Notes and references

See also