Tenju (天授) was a

Japanese era name The , also known as , 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 ""), followed by the literal ...

(年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the

Southern Court The were a set of four emperors (Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitively ...

during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Bunchū and before Kōwa. This period spanned the years from May 1375 to February 1381. The

emperor in Yoshino during this time-frame was . The

Northern court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cour ...

emperor in Kyoto was .

Nanboku-chō overview

During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, an Imperial decree dated March 3, 1911 established that the legitimate reigning monarchs of this period were the direct descendants of

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

through

Emperor Go-Murakami (1328 – March 29, 1368) was the 97th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and a member of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period of rival courts. He reigned from September 18, 1339, until March 29, 13 ...

, whose had been established in exile in

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

, near Nara.Thomas, Julia Adeney. (2001)
''Reconfiguring modernity: concepts of nature in Japanese political ideology'', p. 199 n57
citing Mehl, Margaret. (1997). ''History and the State in Nineteenth-Century Japan.'' p. 140-147. Until the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the militarily superior pretender-Emperors supported by the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establ ...

had been mistakenly incorporated in Imperial chronologies despite the undisputed fact that the

Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Crown, the Imperial orb, the Imperial sce ...

were not in their possession. This illegitimate had been established 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 ...

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

Change of era

* 1375, also called : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''Bunchū'' 4. In this time frame,

Eiwa was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Ōan and before Kōryaku. This period spanned the years from February 1375 through March 1379. The emperor ...

(1375–1379) and

Kōryaku was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Eiwa and before Eitoku. This period spanned the years from March 1379 through February 1381. The emperor in Ky ...

(1379–1381) were the Northern Court equivalent ''nengō.''

Events of the Tenju Era

* 1375 (''Tenju 1''): Shōgun

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu was ...

visits the Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū where he worships publicly; and he offers a sword for the shrine's treasury, gold foil for the embellishment of the shrine, and a racehorses for the shrine's stable.Titsingh, p. 312. * 1375 (''Tenju 2''): For the first time, Shōgun Yoshimitsu is permitted to enter the precincts of the Imperial quarters at the Imperial palace in Kyoto. * 1377 (''Tenju 2''):

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

diplomatic envoy

Jeong Mongju Jeong Mong-ju (Korean: 정몽주, Hanja: 鄭夢周, January 13, 1338 – April 26, 1392), also known by his pen name Poeun (Korean: 포은), a historical figure during the transition period of the Korean dynasty moving from Goryeo (918-1392) to ...

met with the in Kyūshū,

Imagawa Ryōshun , also known as , was a renowned Japanese poet and military commander who served as tandai ("constable") of Kyūshū under the Ashikaga bakufu from 1371 to 1395. His father, Imagawa Norikuni, had been a supporter of the first Ashikaga ''shōgu ...

. The objective of this diplomatic mission was to begin neogiating steps to control pirates (''wakō''). * 1378 (''Tenju 4''): Yoshimitsu moves into his new home in Muromachi; and the luxurious house and grounds are called ''Hana-no-Gosho''Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The "Tokushi Yoron"'', p. 329. * 1379 (''Tenju 5''):

Shiba Yoshimasa was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo during the Muromachi period. Biography Yoshimasa was the son of Shiba Takatsune. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Shiba Yoshimasa"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 850. During the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshi ...

becomes ''

Kanrei or, more rarely, ''kanryō'', was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as ''shōguns deputy''. After 1349, there were actually two ''Kanrei'', the ''Kyoto Kanrei'' and the ''Kantō Kanrei''. Originally, from 1219 until ...

''. * 1380 (''Tenju 6''):

Kusunoki Masanori was a samurai who fought for the Southern Court in Japan's Nanboku-chō Wars, and is famed for his skills as a leader and military strategist, though he later sought a diplomatic solution and was regarded a traitor by many of his comrades. He was ...

rejoins Kameyama; southern army suffers reverses. * July 26, 1380 (''Tenju 6, 24th day of the 6th month'')NengoCalc
天授六年六月二十四日 -->: The former

Emperor Kōmyō (January 11, 1322 – July 26, 1380) was the second of the Emperors of Northern Court, although he was the first to be supported by the Ashikaga Bakufu. According to pre-Meiji scholars, his reign spanned the years from 1336 through 1348. Genea ...

died at age 60.Titsingh
p. 315.
/ref>

Notes

References

Ackroyd Ackroyd is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alan Ackroyd (born 1948), English rugby league footballer * Albert Akroyd, English rugby league player * Alfred Ackroyd (1858–1927), English cricketer * Anthony Ackroyd ( ...

, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The

Tokushi Yoron The is an Edo period historical analysis of Japanese history written in 1712 by Arai Hakuseki (1657–1725). Hakuseki's innovative effort to understand and explain the history of Japan differs significantly from previous chronologies which were c ...

.'' Brisbane:

University of Queensland Press Established in 1948, University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house. Founded as a traditional university press, UQP has since branched into publishing books for general readers in the areas of fiction, non-fiction, poetr ...

. * Mehl, Margaret. (1997). ''History and the State in Nineteenth-Century Japan.'' New York:

St Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

.
OCLC 419870136
* 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 48943301
* Thomas, Julia Adeney. (2001). ''Reconfiguring Modernity: Concepts of Nature in Japanese Political Ideology.'' Berkeley:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. ; * Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). iyun-sai_Rin-siyo/Hayashi_Gahō,_1652.html" ;"title="Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon.
' Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 84067437
{{Japanese era name Japanese eras 1370s in Japan 1380s in Japan