, also known as Genkei, was a after '' Jōgan'' and before '' Ninna.'' This period spanned the years from April 877 through February 885. The reigning emperor was .

Change of era

* January 18, 877 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''Jōgan'' 19, on the 16th day of the 4th month of 877.

Events of the ''Gangyō'' era

* January 20, 877 (''Gangyō 1, 3rd day of the 1st month''): Yōzei was formally enthroned at age 8; and the beginning of a new ''

nengō The or , 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 "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

'' was proclaimed. However, the new residence being constructed for the emperor had not been completed; and initially, he had to live elsewhere in the palace compound.Titsingh
p. 122.
/ref> * 877 (''Gangyō 1, 2nd month''): Ambassadors from Korea arrived in

Izumo Province was an Old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this reg ...

; but they were turned back. * 877 (''Gangyō 1, 6th month''): There was a great drought; and sacrifices were made at the temples of

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

, Kamo and other temples in

Ise Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History The name of Ise appears ...

. Eventually, it rained. * 878 (''Gangyō 2''): Seiwa became a Buddhist priest. His new priestly name was Soshin. * March, 878 (''Gangyō 2, 3rd month''): Emishi people begin a rebellion at Dewa Province, called Gangyō-Rebellion.Titsingh
p. 122.
/ref> * December 31, 878 (''Gangyō 2, 4th day of the 12th month''): Former-Emperor Seiwa died at age 31. * 883 (''Gangyō 7''): In his early teens, Yōzei often spent time alone; and sometimes he would feed live frogs to snakes so that he could watch the reptile swallowing; or sometimes, he would find pleasure in setting dogs and

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

to fight. In time, these amusements became more dangerous. He himself executed criminals. When he became angry, he sometimes chased after those who dared speak up; and he sometimes tried to use his sword.

Fujiwara no Mototsune , also known as , was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat of the early Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Mototsune" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). He was the first '' kampaku'', a regent of an adul ...

, the '' Kanpaku'', used every possible opportunity to turn Yōzei towards more seemly conduct, but the emperor ignored him. * 884 (''Gangyō 8''): The extravagant and dangerous habits of the emperor continued unabated. At one point, Mototsune came to the court and discovered that Yōzei had arranged a bizarre scenario for his diversion: He ordered some men to climb high into trees, and then he ordered others to use sharp lances to poke at them until they fell to their deaths. This extraordinary event convinced Motosune that the emperor was too "undignified" to reign. Mototsune reluctantly realized that someone needed to devise a strategy for deposing the emperor. Shortly thereafter, Mototsune approached Yōzei and remarked that it must be boring to be so often alone, and then Mototsune suggested that the emperor might be amused by a horse race. Yōzei was attracted to this proposition, and he eagerly encouraged Mototsune to set a time and place for the event. It was decided that this special amusement for the emperor would take place on the 4th day of the 2nd month of Gangyō-8.Titsingh
p. 124.
/ref> * March 4, 884 (''Gangyō 8, 4th day of the 2nd month''): The pretext of a special horse race enticed the emperor to leave his palace. Yōzei traveled in a carriage which was quickly surrounded by a heavy guard. The carriage was redirected to ''"Yoseí-in"'' palace at ''"Ni zio"'', a town situated a short distance to the south-west of Miyako. Mototsune confronted the emperor, explaining that his demented behavior made him incapable of reigning, and that he was being dethroned. At this news, Yōzei cried sincerely, which did attract feelings of compassion from those who witnessed his contrition. :In the 8th year of Emperor Yōzei's reign (陽成天皇8年), the emperor was deposed; and scholars then construed that the succession (''senso'') was received by the third son of former

Emperor Ninmyō was the 54th emperor of Japan, Emperor Ninmyō, Fukakusa Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Ninmyō's reign lasted from 833 to 850, during the Heian period. Traditional narrative Nin ...

, who was then age 55. * March 23, 884 (''Gangyō 8, 23rd day of the 2nd month''): Emperor Kōkō is said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui''). * 885 (''Gangyō 9''): The era name was changed accordingly in 885.Varley, p. 172.

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 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 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

.
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:Gangyo Japanese eras 870s in Japan 880s in Japan 877 885 9th-century neologisms