The Tenpō famine (天保の飢饉, ''Tenpō no kikin''), also known as the Great Tenpō famine (天保の大飢饉, ''Tenpō no daikikin'') was a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

that affected

Japan 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 ...

during 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 ...

. Considered to have lasted from 1833 to 1837, it was named after the

Tenpō was a after '' Bunsei'' and before '' Kōka.'' The period spanned from December 1830 through December 1844. The reigning emperor was . Introduction Change of era * December 10, 1830 () : In the 13th year of ''Bunsei'', the new era name of ' ...

era (1830–1844), during the reign of

Emperor Ninkō was the 120th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 仁孝天皇 (120)/ref> Ninkō's reign spanned the years from 1817 until his death in 1846, and saw further deteriorati ...

. The ruling shōgun during the famine was

Tokugawa Ienari Tokugawa Ienari ( ja, 徳川家斉, November 18, 1773 – March 22, 1841) was the eleventh and longest-serving ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991) ''Early Modern J ...

. The famine was most severe in northern

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

and was caused by flooding and cold weather. The famine was one of a series of calamities that shook the faith of the people in the ruling ''

bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

''. During the same period as the famine, there were also the Kōgo Fires of Edo (1834) and a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the

Sanriku , sometimes known as , lies on the northeastern side of the island of Honshu, corresponding to today's Aomori, Iwate and parts of Miyagi Prefecture and has a long history. The 36 bays of this irregular coastline tend to amplify the destructivenes ...

region (1835). In the last year of the famine,

Ōshio Heihachirō was a Japanese philosopher, revolutionary, writer, and Yoriki of the in Osaka. Despite working for the government, he was openly against the Tokugawa regime. He is known for his role as leader in the rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate. ...

led a revolt in Osaka against corrupt officials, who refused to help feed the impoverished residents of the city. Another revolt sprung up in

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was base ...

. Also in 1837, the American merchant vessel ''Morrison'' appeared off the coast of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

and was driven away by coastal artillery. Those incidents made the Tokugawa bakufu look weak and powerless, and they exposed the corruption of the officials who profited while the commoners suffered.

References

Famines in Japan Natural disasters in Japan 1833 in Japan 1834 in Japan 1835 in Japan 1836 in Japan 1837 in Japan 19th-century famines {{Japan-hist-stub

See also

References