Tenji period
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The Tenji period is a brief span of years 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 Tenji period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1322nd year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, , 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.
The timespan is the same as the reign of
Emperor Tenji , also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')天智天皇 (38)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 5 ...
, which is traditionally considered to have been from 662 through 672.


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 Tenji 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 Tenji period. Neither the years of Emperor Tenji's reign nor the Tenji period are included in the list ''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 Emperor Tenji's reign (天智天皇元年 or 天智天皇1年) is also construed as the first year of the Tenji period (天智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.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 the Tenji period

* 662 (''Tenji 1''): Empress Saimei dies; and her nephew delays receiving the succession (''senso''). Only years later does Emperor Tenji formally accede to the throne (''sokui'').Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki'', p. 44; a distinct act of ''senso'' is unrecognized prior to
Emperor Tenji , also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')天智天皇 (38)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 5 ...
; and all sovereigns except
Jitō were medieval territory stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. Appointed by the ''shōgun'', ''jitō'' managed manors including national holdings governed by the provincial governor ( kokushi). There were also d ...
, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have ''senso'' and ''sokui'' in the same year until the reign of
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 ...
.
* 662 (''Tenji 1''): A new chronological time frame is marked by the beginning of the reign of Emperor Tenji * 667 (''Tenji 6''): Six years after the death 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 ...
, her mausoleum was reconstructed. Naka no Ōe''-shinnō'' had not yet been proclaimed as Emperor Tenji, which meant that he had not yet begun to create an official court around himself. In this year, he did at last establish his court at
Ōtsu 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu is ...
-no-Miya in the
Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countrie ...
, where his enthronement was belatedly scheduled for the springtime of the following year.Titsingh, p. 54; Brown, p. 268. * 668 (''Tenji 7''): Emperor Tenji is formally enthroned.


See also

*
Jinshin War The was a war of succession in Japan during the Asuka period of the Yamato state. It broke out in 672 following the death of Emperor Tenji. The name refers to the ''jinshin'' (壬申) or ninth year of the sixty-year Jikkan Jūnishi calendrica ...
*
Regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
*
List of Japanese era names 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 ...


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

* National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar
-- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenji (Period) Japanese eras 7th century in Japan 662 beginnings 672 endings