was a after ''
Hōreki'' and before ''
An'ei
was a after '' Meiwa'' and before ''Tenmei.'' This period spanned the years November 1772 through March 1781. The reigning emperors were and .
Change of era
* 1772 : The era name was changed to ''An'ei'' (meaning "peaceful eternity") to mark ...
.'' This period spanned the years from June 1764 through November 1772. The reigning empress and emperor were and .
Change of era
* 1764 : The era name became ''Meiwa'' (meaning "Bright Harmony") because of the enthronement of Empress
Go-Sakuramachi.
As a cultural phenomenon, the literature of this period records concerted attempts to distill the aggregate characteristics of the inhabitants of
Edo (''Edokko'') into a generalized thumbnail description. These traits (''Edokko katagi'') were put into use to draw a contrast between Edokko and those who did not have this "sophisticated" gloss—those not from the city, as in merchants from the
Kyoto-Osaka region or
samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
from distant provinces. Sometimes ''Edokko katagi'' was presented with pride; and it was used mockingly.
Events
* 1765 (''Meiwa 2''): Five-momme coin issued.
* 1766 (''Meiwa 3''): A planned insurrection to displace the Shōgun was thwarted.
* 1768 (''Meiwa 5''): Five-momme usage halted.
* 1770 (''Meiwa 7''): A typhoon flattened the newly built Imperial Palace in Kyoto.
[Hall, John. (1955). ''Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788'', p. 120.]
* 1770 (''Meiwa 7''): A great comet (
Lexell's Comet) with a very long tail lit up the night skies throughout the summer and autumn.
* 1770 (''Meiwa 7''): Although no one could have known it at the time, this was the first of 15 consecutive years of drought in Japan.
* April 1, 1772 (''Meiwa 9, 29th day of the 2nd month''): "The Great ''Meiwa'' Fire"—one of the three greatest Edo fire disasters. Unofficial reports describe a swath of ashes and cinders nearly five miles wide and long—destroying 178 temples and shrines, 127 daimyō residences, 878 non-official residences, 8705 houses of
bannermen, and 628 blocks of merchant dwellings, with estimates of over 6,000 casualties. All this devastation subsequently engendered the staggering costs of reconstruction.
* August 2, 1772 (''Meiwa 9, 4th day of the 6th month''): A terrible tempest hit the Kantō bringing floods and ruining crops.
* August 17, 1772 (''Meiwa 9, 19th day of the 6th month''): Another storm with more flooding and winds no less intense blew down an estimated 4000 houses in Edo alone.
* 1772 (''Meiwa 9''): At the time, it was said that "''Meiwa'' 9 is Year of Trouble" because it was marked by an extraordinary succession of natural calamities. The pun was made linking the words ''"Meiwa"'' + ''"ku"'' (meaning "''Meiwa'' 9") and the sound-alike word ''"meiwaku"'' (meaning "misfortune" or "annoyance").
* 1772 (''Meiwa 9, 11th month''): The ''nengō'' was changed to ''Anei'' (meaning "eternal tranquillity"), but this symbolic act was proved futile.
[Hall, p. 169.]
Notes
References
*
Hall, John Whitney. (1955). ''Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788: Forerunner of Modern Japan.'' 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 445621* Nara, Hiroshi. (2004). ''The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō."'' Honolulu:
University of Hawaii Press
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
. ;
OCLC 644791079* 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*
Screech, Timon. (2006)
''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822.''London:
RoutledgeCurzon.
OCLC 65177072*
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''
Nihon Odai Ichiran
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in t ...
''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.'' Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
External links
*
Lexell's Comet-- Comet ("D/1770 L1") is named after Lexell.*
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*
Toyohara Chikanobu, ''Mirror of the Ages'' (''Jidai Kagami'')
''Meiwa no koro.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiwa
Japanese eras
1760s in Japan
1770s in Japan
1764 establishments in Japan
1760s neologisms