was a after '' Genki'' and before ''

Bunroku was a after '' Tenshō'' and before ''Keichō.'' This period spanned the years from December 1592 to October 1596.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Bunroku''" i ''Japan encyclopedia'', p. 92 n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Fr ...

''. This period spanned the years from July 1573 through December 1592 during the Sengoku era.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tenshō''" i
''Japan encyclopedia'', p. 961
n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File
. The reigning emperors were and .

Change of era

* 1573 : The new era name was created to mark a number of regional wars. The era name was inspired by a passage from the Chinese classic ''Tao Te Ching by''

Laozi Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

: :"Those who are at peace with nature bring all under Heaven into its correct pattern" (清静者為天下正). The era name ''Tenshō'' was suggested by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. The previous era ended, and a new one commenced in ''Genki'' 4, the 28th day of the 7th month.

Events of the ''Tenshō'' era

European dates up to October 4, 1582 are given in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

. Dates since October 15, 1582 are given in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

. * 1573 (''Tenshō 1, 7th month''):

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573 when he ...

lost his position as

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

. He shaved his head, becoming a Buddhist priest. Initially, he took the priestly name Sho-san, but he eventually came to be known as Rei-o In. * 1574 (''Tenshō 2, 1st month''): Sectarian rebellion in

Echizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga Province, Kaga, Wakasa Province, Wakasa, Hida Province, Hida, and Ōmi Provin ...

. * 1574 (''Tenshō 2, 9th month''): Suppression of sectarian rebellion in Nagashima. * 1575 (''Tenshō 3, 5th month''):

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (military lord) of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son-in-law of Hojo Ujiyasu, ''daimyō'' of Hojo clan. Early life H ...

led an army into

Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Suruga Province, S ...

where he lay siege to Nagashino Castle. The Tokugawa defended the castle; and Tokugawa Ieayasu sought assistance from his ally Oda Nobunaga. In response, Nobunaga and his son Nobutada arrived at Nagashino with a large force. In the ensuing

Battle of Nagashino The was a famous battle in History of Japan, Japanese history, fought in 1575 at Nagashino Castle, Nagashino in Mikawa Province (present-day Nagashino, Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture). The allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu (38,000) ...

, the Takeda attackers were forced to retreat. * 1576 (''Tenshō 4''):

ordered the rebuilding of the

Asama Shrine An is a type of Shinto Shrine in Japan centered on the worship of the ''kami'' of volcanos in general, and Mount Fuji in particular.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' p.454. Per the Jinja Honchō, there are approx ...

at the base of

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

Suruga Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...

.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines'', p.462. Construction of

Azuchi Castle was one of the primary Castles in Japan, castles of Oda Nobunaga located in the Azuchi, Shiga, Azuchi neighborhood of the city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. The site of the castle was designated a Monuments of Japan, National Historic Site i ...

begins. * 1579 (''Tenshō 7, 5th month''): Azuchi Sect Debates at

. * 1579 (''Tenshō 7, 6th month''):

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

makes himself master of

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima. Tango, Wakasa, and Yamashiro provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichid ...

.Titsingh
p. 394.
/ref> * 1579 (''Tenshō 7, 10th month''):

Oda Nobukatsu also known as Kitabatake Tomotoyo was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the second son of Oda Nobunaga. He was adopted as the head of the Kitabatake clan from Ise Province. He survived the decline of the Oda clan ...

launches first

Tenshō Iga War is the name of two invasions of the Iga ikki by the Oda clan during the Sengoku period. The province was conquered by Oda Nobunaga in 1581 after an unsuccessful attempt in 1579 by his son Oda Nobukatsu. The names of the wars are derived from the ...

, ending with his defeat. * 1580 (''Tenshō 8, 11th month''): Kaga sectarian rebellion suppressed. * 1581 (''Tenshō 9, 9th month''):

relaunches the second

, ending with victory and Iga left under Nobukatsu's control. * 1582 (''Tenshō 10''):

utter defeat by the forces of

led to the destruction of Takeda-built structures at the Asama Shrine. * 1582 (''Tenshō 10, 3rd month''):

Battle of Tenmokuzan The 1582 in Japan, is regarded as the last stand of the Takeda clan. This was the final attempt by Takeda Katsuyori to resist the forces of Oda Nobunaga, who had been campaigning against him for some time. In his bid to hide from his pursuers, K ...

. * 1582 (''Tenshō 10, 6th month''):

Incident at Honnō-ji The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective. ICS was initially develope ...

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Yamazaki, Japan, located in current-day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Mt. Tennō (天王山の戦い ''Tennō-zan no tatakai''). In the Honnō-ji Incident, Akechi Mitsuhide, ...

Council of Kiyosu A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

. * February 20, 1582 (''Tenshō 10, 28th day of the 1st month''): A Japanese mission or embassy to Europe (''Tenshō Ken'ō Shisetsu'') sailed from Nagasaki, and its members would not return until 1590. It headed by Mancio Itō and organized on the initiative of

Alessandro Valignano Alessandro Valignano, S.J., sometimes Valignani (Chinese: 范禮安 ''Fàn Lǐ’ān''; February 1539 – January 20, 1606), was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary born in Chieti, part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the i ...

. Although less well-known and less well-documented than

Hasekura Tsunenaga was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Ph ...

's diplomatic mission to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

(known as the "''

Keichō was a after '' Bunroku'' and before '' Genna''. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1596 : The era name was changed to ''Keichō'' to mark the passing of various natural disaste ...

'' Embassy") in 1613–1620, this historic diplomatic initiative remains a noteworthy accomplishment. The mission is sometimes referred to as the "''Tenshō'' Embassy" because it was initiated in the ''Tenshō'' era. This venture was organized by three ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

s'' of Western Japan –

Ōmura Sumitada Ōmura Sumitada (大村純忠, 1533 – June 23, 1587) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' lord of the Sengoku period. He became famous throughout the country for being the first of the daimyo to convert to Christianity following the arrival of th ...

Ōtomo Sōrin , also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原義鎮) or Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Catholicism. The eldest son of , he inherited the Funa ...

and Arima Harunobu. * 1583 (''Tenshō 11, 4th month''):

Battle of Shizugatake The took place during the Sengoku period of Japan between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Nagahama, Shiga, Shizugatake, Ōmi Province over a period of two days beginning on the 20th day of the fourth month of ...

. * 1584 (''Tenshō 12, 4th month''):

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute The , also known as the Komaki Campaign (小牧の役 ''Komaki no Eki''), was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu ...

. * August 10, 1584 (''Tenshō 12, 15th day of the 7th month''): The Japanese mission to the West (''Tenshō Ken'ō Shisetsu'') arrived in Lisbon. * 1585 (''Tenshō 13, 7th month''):

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

is given the position of '' kampaku'' by Emperor Ōgimachi. * December 17, 1586 (''Tenshō 14, 7th day of the 11th month''): Ogimachi gave over the reins of civil government to his grandson, who would become Emperor Go-Yozei. There had been no such Imperial since

Emperor Go-Hanazono (July 10, 1419 – 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 thro ...

abdicated in ''Kanshō'' 5. The dearth of abdications is attributable to the disturbed state of the country and to the fact that there was neither any dwelling in which an ex-emperor could live nor any excess funds in the treasury to support him. * 1586 (''Tenshō 14, 12th month''): A political marriage is arranged between the youngest sister of Hideyoshi and

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

.Titsingh
p. 402.
/ref> * 1586 (''Tenshō 14, 12th month''): The ''kampaku'', Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was nominated to be ''

Daijō-daijin The was the head of the during and after the Nara period and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. It was equivalent to the Chinese , or Grand Preceptor. History Emperor Tenji's favorite son, Prince Ōtomo, was the first to have been acco ...

''. * 1586 (''Tenshō 14, 12th month''): An earthquake strikes the Chubu region, killing 8,000 people. * 1587 (''Tenshō 15''): Gold or silver coins called ''Tenshō-tsūhō'' were minted. The gold coins (''Tenshō-ōban'') weighed 165 grams; and these oval shaped coins were worth 10 ''

ryō The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''. Origins The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Ja ...

''. * 1588 (''Tenshō 16, 7th month''):

Emperor Go-Yōzei was the 107th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Yōzei's reign spanned the years 1586 through to his abdication in 1611, corresponding to the transition between the Azuchi–Momoyama period and the Edo period ...

visits Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mansion,

sword hunt Several times in Japanese history, the new ruler sought to ensure his position by calling a . Armies would scour the entire country, confiscating the weapons of all potential enemies of the new regime. In this manner, the new ruler sought to ensur ...

decree * 1590 (''Tenshō 18, 7th month''): Hideyoshi led an army to the Kantō where he lay siege to

Odawara Castle is a reconstructed Japanese castle in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The current donjon (keep) was constructed out of reinforced concrete in 1960 on a stone foundation of the former donjon, torn down from 1870–1872 ...

Sagami province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...

. When the fortress fell,

Hōjō Ujimasa was the fourth head of the later Hōjō clan, and ''daimyō'' of Odawara. Ujimasa succeeded the territory expansion policy from his father, Hōjō Ujiyasu, and achieved the biggest territory in the clan's history. Early life and rise In 1538 ...

died and his brother,

Hōjō Ujinao was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period, and the final head of the Later Hōjō clan. An important figure in the history of Azuchi–Momoyama politics, he lost his entire domain following the Siege of Odawara (1590). Despite t ...

submitted to Hideyoshi's power, thus effectively ending a period of serial internal warfare , which had continued uninterrupted since the

Ōnin was a after '' Bunshō'' and before ''Bunmei''. This period spanned the years from March 1467 through April 1469. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1467 : The era name was changed to mark an event or a number of events. The old era en ...

era (1467).Titsingh
p. 405.
/ref> * 1592 (''Tenshō 20, 4th month''): The

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

begins with the

Siege of Busanjin Japanese army sacks the city of Busan. The siege of Busanjin () was a battle fought at Busan on 24 May 1592, between Japanese and Korean forces. The attacks on Busan and the neighboring fort of Dadaejin were the first battles of the Japanes ...

. In 1589–1590 (in the 23rd year of the reign of King

Seonjo of Joseon Seonjo (; 6 December 1552 – 6 March 1608), personal name Yi Yeon (), was the 14th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was known for promoting Confucianism and attempting reforms at the beginning of his reign. However, he later gained ...

), a diplomatic mission led by

Hwang Yun-gil Hwang Yun-gil (; 1536–?), also known as Hwang Yun'gil, was a Korean diplomat and ambassador of the Joseon period. He was a member of the Western faction in the Joseon court. He represented Joseon interests in a ''tongsinsa'' (diplomatic missio ...

was sent to Japan.Rutt, Richard ''et al.'' (2003)
''Korea: a Historical and Cultural Dictionary'', p. 190.
/ref> The Joseon ambassador was received by Hideyoshi.Kang
''Diplomacy and Ideology'', p. 275.
/ref>

In popular culture

The fictional plot of the classic

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

film ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...

'' takes place in the 15th year of ''Tenshō''.

Notes

References

* Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin. (1997). ''Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century''. Basingstoke, Hampshire; Macmillan. ; * Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 48943301
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan''.
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* ____________. (1962).
''Studies in Shinto and Shrines''.
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 3994492
* Rutt, Richard and

James Hoare James Edward Hoare (born 1943) is a British academic and historian specialising in Korean and Chinese studies, and a career diplomat in the British Foreign Office. Academia Hoare is a graduate of London's School of Oriental and African Studies ...

. (2003). ''Korea: a Historical and Cultural Dictionary''. London:

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

. * 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

External links

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 ...

, "The Japanese Calendar
-- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tensho Japanese eras 1570s in Japan 1580s in Japan 1590s in Japan 16th-century neologisms