was a after '' Jinki'' and before '' Tenpyō-kanpō.'' This period spanned the years from August 729 through April 749. The reigning emperor was .

Change of era

* 729 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''Jinki'' 6, on the 5th day of the 8th month of 729.

Events of the ''Tenpyō'' era

* 740 (''Tenpyō 12, 8th month''): In the court of

Emperor Shōmu was the 45th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period. Traditional narrative ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

, Kibi no Makibi and

Genbō was a Japanese scholar-monk and bureaucrat of the Imperial Court at Nara. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gembō" in . He is best known as a leader of the Hossō sect of Buddhism and as the adversary of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu. Career In 71 ...

conspire to discredit

Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamata ...

, who is '' Dazai shoni'' in Kyushu.Titsingh, . * 740 (''Tenpyō 12, 9th month''): Hirotsugu revolts in reaction to the growing influence of Genbō and others. * 740 (''Tenpyō 12, 9th month''): Under the command of Ōno no Azumabito, an army of 17,000 is sent to Kyushu to stop the potential disturbance. * 740 (''Tenpyō 12, 10th month''): Hirotsugu is decisively beaten in battle; and he is beheaded in

Hizen Province was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...

. * 740 (''Tenpyō 12''): ''The capital is moved to Kuni-kyō''. * 741 (''Tenpyō 13''): The Emperor calls for nationwide establishment of

provincial temple were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). History Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in ea ...

s. Provincial temples (''"kokubunji"'') and provincial nunneries (''"kokubunniji"'') were established throughout the country.Varley, pp. 141–142. The more formal name for these ''"kokubunji"'' was ''"konkomyo-shitenno-gokoku no tera"'' (meaning "temples for the protection of the country by the four guardian deities of the golden light"). The more formal name for these ''"bokubunniji"'' was ''"hokke-metuzai no tera"'' (meaning "nunneries for eliminating sin by means of the Lotus Sutra"). * 743 (''Tenpyō 15''): The Emperor issues a rescript to build the ''

Daibutsu or 'giant Buddha' is the Japanese term, often used informally, for large statues of Buddha. The oldest is that at Asuka-dera (609) and the best-known is that at Tōdai-ji in Nara (752). Tōdai-ji's daibutsu is a part of the UNESCO World Herit ...

'' (Great Buddha), later to be completed and placed in

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

. * 743 (''Tenpyō 15''): The law of Perpetual Ownership of Cultivated Lands (墾田永代私財法) issued * 744 (''Tenpyō 16''): Naniwa-kyō announced as capital. * 745 (''Tenpyō 17''): The capital returns to

Heijō-kyō was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...

(

), construction of the Great Buddha resumes. * 749 (''Tenpyō 20''): After a 25-year reign, Emperor Shōmu abdicates in favor of his daughter, Takano''-hime'', who will become Empress Kōken. After his abdication, Shomu took the tonsure, thus becoming the first retired emperor to become a Buddhist priest. Empress Kōmyō, following her husband's example, also took holy vows in becoming a Buddhist nun.Varley, p. 143.

Notes

References

* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past''.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
OCLC 251325323
* 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 retir ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* 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
* 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 fie ...

.
OCLC 6042764

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:Tenpyo Japanese eras 8th century in Japan 729 beginnings 749 endings