The Saimei period is a

chronological Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , ''-logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It ...

timeframe during the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...

of Japanese history. The Saimei period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1315th year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, David. (1894). , citing William Bramsen. (1880). ; compare, the Japanese

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 ...

website explains tha
"Japan organized its first calendar in the 12th year of Suiko (604)"
which was a pre-''nengō'' time frame. This

periodization In historiography, periodization is the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis.Adam Rabinowitz. It's about time: historical periodization and Linked Ancie ...

is congruent with the reign of

Empress Saimei An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

, which is traditionally considered to have been from 655 through 662.

Periodization

The adoption of the

Sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

calendar (''Jikkan Jūnishi'') in Japan is attributed to

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japan ...

in 604; and this Chinese calendar continued in use throughout the Saimei period. In 645, the system of was introduced. However, after the reign of

Emperor Kotoku An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

, this method of segmenting was temporarily abandoned or allowed to lapse. This interval continued during the Saimei period. Neither Empress Saimei's reign nor the Saimei periodization are included in the list of ''nengō'' for this explicit duration of

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

, which comes after Hakuchi and before Suchō. In the post-Taika or pre-Taihō chronology, the first year of Empress Saimei's reign (斉明天皇元年 or 斉明天皇1年) is also construed as the first year of the Saimei period (斉明1年).Tsuchihashi, Paul. (1952)
''Japanese Chronological Tables from 601 to 1872,'' p. 16

Non-nengō period

Non-nengō periods in the pre-Taihō calendar were published in 1880 by William Bramsen. These were refined in 1952 by

Paul Tuschihashi , S.J. was a Japanese Roman Catholic priest, mathematician, astronomer, Sinologist, lexicographer, academic and administrator."98-Year-Old Jesuit Priest, Born a Samurai Warrior, Dies at Tokyo University," Father Paul is known for having develope ...

in ''Japanese Chronological Tables from 601 to 1872.'' The pre-Tahiō calendar included two non-nengō gaps or

intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets * A statistical level of measurement * Interval e ...

in the chronological series: :* Taika, August 645–February 650.Nussbaum, "''Taika''" at :* Hakuchi, February 650–December 654.Nussbaum, "''Hakuchi''" at . :**Non-nengō dating systems :* Shuchō, July–September 686.Nussbaum, "''Shuchō''" at . :**Non-nengō dating systems :* Taihō, March 701–May 704. Nengō were not promulgated (or were allowed to lapse) during the gap years between Hakuchi and Shuchō, and in another gap between Shuchō and Taihō.

Events of the ''Saimei'' period

* 654 (''Hakuchi 4''): Emperor Kōtoku, in the 10th year of his reign (孝徳天皇10年), dies at age 59; and his nephew and heir declines the succession (''senso''). Shortly thereafter, Empress Saimei formally accedes to the throne (''sokui''). * 655 (''Saimei 1'') or "the 1st year of Saimei's reign (斉明天皇元年: A new period is marked by the beginning of the reign of Empress Saimei, but the end of the previous nengō in ''Hakuchi 6'' did not presage the commencement of a new nengō. This dating system was allowed to lapse during Saimei's reign. * 661 (''Saimei 7, 7th month''): Empress Saimei, in the 7th year of her reign (斉明天皇7年), designated her son as her heir; and modern scholars construe this as meaning that this son would have received the succession (''senso'') after her death or abdication. Shortly after she did die at age 68, Emperor Tenji could be said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui'').Titsingh,

Notes

References

* Bramsen, William. (1880). ''Japanese Chronological Tables: Showing the Date, According to the Julian or Gregorian Calendar, of the First Day of Each Japanese Month, from Tai-kwa 1st year to Mei-ji 6th year (645 AD to 1873 AD): with an Introductory Essay on Japanese Chronology and Calendars.'' Tokyo: Seishi Bunsha
OCLC 35728014
* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.''
Berkeley: University of California Press.
OCLC 251325323
* Murray, David. (1894). ''The Story of Japan.'' New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons
OCLC 1016340
* 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 retirem ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* 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
* Tsuchihashi, Paul Yashita, S.J. (1952). . Tokyo: Sophia University
OCLC 001291275
* 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 fiel ...

.
OCLC 6042764
* Zöllner, Reinhard. (2003). ''Japanische Zeitrechnung: ein Handbuch'' Munich: Iudicium Verlag.
OCLC 249297777

External links