The Temmu 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 Temmu period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1333rd 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

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. Tenmu's re ...

, which is traditionally considered to have been from 673 through 686.

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 Tenmu period. In 645, the system of was introduced. However, after the reign of

Emperor Kōtoku was the 36th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654. Traditional narrative Before Kōtoku's ascensi ...

, this method of segmenting

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 ...

was temporarily abandoned or allowed to lapse. This interval continues during the Tenmu period. Neither Emperor Tenmu's reign nor the Tenmu periodization are included in the list of ''nengō'' for this explicit duration of

. The was an unofficial ''nengō'' during the reign of Emperor TemmuNussbaum, "''Hakuhō''" at after '' Hakuchi'' and before '' Suchō.'' The duration of this discrete non-''nengō'' timespan lasted for 15 years. In the post-Taika or pre-Taihō chronology, the first year of Emperor Tenmu's reign (年号天皇元年 or 年号天皇1年) is also construed as the first year of the Temmu period (年号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 Tsuchihashi , 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 developed ...

in ''Japanese Chronological Tables from 601 to 1872.'' The pre-Tahiō calendar included two non-nengō gaps or intervals in the chronological series: :* Taika, August 645–February 650.Nussbaum, "''Taika''" at :* Hakuchi, February 650–December 654. :**Non-nengō dating systems :*

Shuchō , alternatively read as ''Suchō'' or ''Akamitori'', was a after a gap following '' Hakuchi'' (650–654) and before another gap lasting until ''Taihō'' (701–704). This ''Shuchō'' period briefly spanned a period of mere months, June through S ...

, July–September 686.Nussbaum, "''Shuchō''" at . :**Non-nengō dating systems :* Taihō, March 701–May 704.Nussbaum, "''Taihō''" at . 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 Temmu period

* 673 (''Kōbun 2''): Emperor Tenji dies; and his son, Ō-ama-shinnō (later to become Emperor Tenmu), declines to receive the succession (''senso''). Shortly thereafter, his older brother, Ōtomo (posthumously known as Emperor Kōbun after 1870), formally accedes to the throne (''sokui''). Anticipating trouble will foment around his brother, Emperor Kōbun leads an army against his brother. The forces defending against Kōbun's attack are ultimately successful, and belatedly, the son whom Emperor Tenji had designated heir accepts ''senso'' and ''sokui.'' * 673 (''Temmu 1''): A new period is marked by the beginning of the reign of Emperor Temmu * 674 (''Temmu 2''): Ambassadors of ''Tane no kuni'' were received in the Japanese court. * 680 (''Temmu 8''):

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara, Nara, Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddh ...

was founded in the Hakuhou period ''Hakuhou jidai'' 白鳳時代 JAANUS (Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System)
retrieved 24 January 2011; see also Nussbaum, "''Yakushi-ji''" at

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 to 1873): 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 Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the ''American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...

''; 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