Tenji (period)

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Glossary

The Tenji period is a brief span of years during the Asuka period 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.^[1]

The timespan is the same as the reign of Emperor Tenji, which is traditionally considered to have been from 662 through 672.^[2]

1 Periodization
2 Non-nengō period
3 Events of the Tenji period
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Periodization

The adoption of the Sexegenary cycle calendar (Jikkan Jūnishi) in Japan is attributed to Empress Suiko in 604;^[3] and this Chinese calendar continued in use throughout the Tenji period.

In 645, the system of Japanese era names (年号,, nengō,^?, lit. "year name") was introduced.^[4] However, after the reign of Emperor Kotoku, 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, 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).^[5]

Non-nengō period

Non-nengō periods in the pre-Taihō calendar were published in 1880 by William Bramsen.^[1] These were refined in 1952 by Paul Tuschihashi in Japanese Chronological Tables from 601 to 1872.^[5]

The pre-Tahiō calendar included two non-nengō gaps or intervals in the chronological series:

Taika, August 645–February 650.^[6]
Hakuchi, February 650–December 654.^[7]
- Non-nengō dating systems
Shuchō, July–September 686.^[8]
- Non-nengō dating systems
Taihō, March 701–May 704.^[6]

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.


Concurrent Chronologies

Non-nengō periods	Nengō eras	Shinengō^[9]	Yamato dynasty duration	Western calendar dates
	Taika ^[6]		1305	645^[10]
	Hakuchi ^[7]		1310	650^[11]
Saimei's reign^[1]			1315	655^[12]
Tenji's reign^[1]			1322	662^[13]
Kōbun's reign^[14]		Sujaku^[15]	1332^[1]	672^[16]
Temmu's reign		Hakuhō^[17]	1333^[1]	673^[18]
	Suchō ^[8]		1346	686^[19]
Jitō's reign^[1]			1347	687^[20]
		Taika^[21]	1350	695^[21]
Mommu's reign^[1]			1357	697^[22]
	Taihō^[6]		1361	701^[23]

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).^[24]
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, 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-no-Miya in the Ōmi Province, where his enthronement was belatedly scheduled for the springtime of the following year.^[25]
668 (Tenji 7): Emperor Tenji is formally enthroned.^[25]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Murray, p. 402 at Google Books, citing William Bramsen. (1880). Japanese Chronological Tables, pp. 54-55 at Google Books; compare, the Japanese National Diet Library website explains that "Japan organized its first calendar in the 12th year of Suiko (604)", which was a pre-nengō time frame.
^ Murray, David. (1894). The Story of Japan, p. 402 at Google Books; the system of counting from year-periods (nengō) do not ordinarily overlap with the reigns of the early monarchs; and generally, a new one was chosen whenever it was deemed necessary to commemorate an auspicious or ward off a malign event.
^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Jikkan Jūnishi" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 420 at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File
^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, p. 30. at Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Tsuchihashi, Paul. (1952). Japanese Chronological Tables from 601 to 1872, p. 16.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nussbaum, "Taika" at p. 924 at Google Books
^ ^a ^b Nussbaum, "Hakuchi" at p. 280 at Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Nussbaum, "Shuchō" at p. 889 at Google Books.
^ Shinengō used prior to the reestablishment of the nengō system in 701 are usually called itsunengō (逸年号^?). A list of shinengō and more information can be seen in the Japanese Wikipedia page ja:私年号.
^ NengoCalc (645) 大化 Taika, online conversion of Japanese dates into their Western equivalents; calculation is based on tables from Tsuchihashi and Zöllner.
^ NengoCalc (650) 白雉 Hakuchi
^ NengoCalc (655) 斉明 Saimei
^ NengoCalc (622) 天智 Tenji
^ Brown, Delmer M. et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 268 n39. at Google Books; post-Meiji historians position the reign of Emperor Kōbun between the reigns of Emperor Tenji and Emperor Temmu, but pre-Meiji historians did not construe Prince Ōtomo in the traditional order of succession; compare Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 52; and see Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 天智天皇 (38)
^ Murray, p. 402 at Google Books; Sujaku is also known as an Itsunengō (逸年号^?)
^ NengoCalc (672) 弘文 Kōbun
^ Murray, p. 402 at Google Books; Hakuhō, also known as Itsunengō; compare Nussbaum, "Hakuhō" at p. 280 at Google Books; Hakuhou jidai, JAANUS (Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System), 2001; retrieved 16 Sept 2009.
^ NengoCalc (673) 弘文 Temmu
^ NengoCalc (686) 朱鳥 Suchō
^ NengoCalc (687) 持統 Jitō
^ ^a ^b Brown, p. 270 at Google Books; excerpt, "The eras that fell in this reign were: (1) the remaining seven years of Shuchō [(686+7=692?)]; and (2) Taika, which was four years long [695-698]. (The first year of this era was kinoto-hitsuji [695].) ...In the third year of the Taka era [697], Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."
^ NengoCalc (697) 文武 Mommu
^ NengoCalc (701) 大宝 Taihō
^ Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
^ ^a ^b Titsingh, p. 54; Brown, p. 268.

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. 10-ISBN 0-520-03460-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; 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. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; 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; 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). Japanese chronological tables from 601 to 1872 (邦曆西曆對照表: 自推古九年至明治五年, Hōreki seireki taishōhyō: Suiko kyūnen yori Meiji gonen ni itaru^?). 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. 10-ISBN 0231049404/13-ISBN 9780231049405; OCLC 6042764
Zöllner, Reinhard. (2003). Japanische Zeitrechnung: ein Handbuch Munich: Iudicium Verlag. 10-ISBN 3891297831/13-ISBN 9783891297834; OCLC 249297777

External links

National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection

Tenji period	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th
Gregorian	662	663	664	665	666	667	668	669	670	671	672

Preceded by ——	nengō in abeyance	Succeeded by ——
Preceded by Saimei period	Tenji period Reign of Emperor Tenji	Succeeded by Kōbun period

Japanese era names (Nengō)

Asuka period 538–710	Taika 645–650 · Hakuchi 650–654 · Shuchō 686–686 · Taihō 701–704 · Keiun 704–708 · Wadō 708–715

Nara period 710–784	Reiki 715–717 · Yōrō 717–724 · Jinki 724–729 · Tenpyō 729–749 · Tenpyō-kanpō 749–749 · Tenpyō-shōhō 749–757 · Tenpyō-hōji 757–765 · Tenpyō-jingo 765–767 · Jingo-keiun 767–770 · Hōki 770–781 · Ten'ō 781–782 · Enryaku 782–806

Heian period 784–1185	Daidō 806–810 · Kōnin 810–824 · Tenchō 824–834 · Jōwa 834–848 · Kajō 848–851 · Ninju 851–854 · Saikō 854–857 · Ten'an 857–859 · Jōgan 859–877 · Gangyō 877–885 · Ninna 885–889 · Kanpyō 889–898 · Shōtai 898–901 · Engi 901–923 · Enchō 923–931 · Jōhei 931–938 · Tengyō 938–947 · Tenryaku 947–957 · Tentoku 957–961 · Ōwa 961–964 · Kōhō 964–968 · Anna 968–970 · Tenroku 970–973 · Ten'en 973–976 · Jōgen 976–978 · Tengen 978–983 · Eikan 983–985 · Kanna 985–987 · Eien 987–988 · Eiso 988–990 · Shōryaku 990–995 · Chōtoku 995–999 · Chōhō 999–1004 · Kankō 1004–1012 · Chōwa 1012–1017 · Kannin 1017–1021 · Jian 1021–1024 · Manju 1024–1028 · Chōgen 1028–1037 · Chōryaku 1037–1040 · Chōkyū 1040–1044 · Kantoku 1044–1046 · Eishō 1046–1053 · Tengi 1053–1058 · Kōhei 1058–1065 · Jiryaku 1065–1069 · Enkyū 1069–1074 · Jōhō 1074–1077 · Jōryaku 1077–1081 · Eihō 1081–1084 · Ōtoku 1084–1087 · Kanji 1087–1094 · Kahō 1094–1096 · Eichō 1096–1097 · Jōtoku 1097–1099 · Kōwa 1099–1104 · Chōji 1104–1106 · Kajō 1106–1108 · Tennin 1108–1110 · Ten'ei 1110–1113 · Eikyū 1113–1118 · Gen'ei 1118–1120 · Hōan 1120–1124 · Tenji 1124–1126 · Daiji 1126–1131 · Tenshō 1131–1132 · Chōshō 1132–1135 · Hōen 1135–1141 · Eiji 1141–1142 · Kōji 1142–1144 · Ten'yō 1144–1145 · Kyūan 1145–1151 · Ninpei 1151–1154 · Kyūju 1154–1156 · Hōgen 1156–1159 · Heiji 1159–1160 · Eiryaku 1160–1161 · Ōhō 1161–1163 · Chōkan 1163–1165 · Eiman 1165–1166 · Nin'an 1166–1169 · Kaō 1169–1171 · Jōan 1171–1175 · Angen 1175–1177 · Jishō 1177–1181 · Yōwa 1181–1182 · Juei 1182–1184 · Genryaku 1184–1185

Kamakura period 1185–1333	Bunji 1185–1190 · Kenkyū 1190–1199 · Shōji 1199–1201 · Kennin 1201–1204 · Genkyū 1204–1206 · Ken'ei 1206–1207 · Jōgen 1207–1211 · Kenryaku 1211–1213 · Kempo 1213–1219 · Jōkyū 1219–1222 · Jōō 1222–1224 · Gennin 1224–1225 · Karoku 1225–1227 · Antei 1227–1229 · Kangi 1229–1232 · Jōei 1232–1233 · Tenpuku 1233–1234 · Bunryaku 1234–1235 · Katei 1235–1238 · Ryakunin 1238–1239 · En'ō 1239–1240 · Ninji 1240–1243 · Kangen 1243–1247 · Hōji 1247–1249 · Kenchō 1249–1256 · Kōgen 1256–1257 · Shōka 1257–1259 · Shōgen 1259–1260 · Bun'ō 1260–1261 · Kōchō 1261–1264 · Bun'ei 1264–1275 · Kenji 1275–1278 · Kōan 1278–1288 · Shōō 1288–1293 · Einin 1293–1299 · Shōan 1299–1302 · Kengen 1302–1303 · Kagen 1303–1306 · Tokuji 1306–1308 · Enkyō 1308–1311 · Ōchō 1311–1312 · Shōwa 1312–1317 · Bunpō 1317–1319 · Gen'ō 1319–1321 · Genkō 1321–1324 · Shōchū 1324–1326 · Karyaku 1326–1329 · Gentoku 1329–1331 · Genkō 1331–1334^♯ · Shōkyō 1332–1333^₪

Nanboku-chō period (Northern Court) 1336–1392	Kemmu 1334–1338 · Ryakuō 1338–1342 · Kōei 1342–1345 · Jōwa 1345–1350 · Kannō 1350–1352 · Bunna 1352–1356 · Enbun 1356–1361 · Kōan 1361–1362 · Jōji 1362–1368 · Ōan 1368–1375 · Eiwa 1375–1379 · Kōryaku 1379–1381 · Eitoku 1381–1384 · Shitoku 1384–1387 · Kakei 1387–1389 · Kōō 1389–1390 · Meitoku 1390–1394^‡

Nanboku-chō period (Southern Court) 1336–1392	Kemmu 1334–1336 · Engen 1336–1340 · Kōkoku 1340–1346 · Shōhei 1346–1370 · Kentoku 1370–1372 · Bunchū 1372–1375 · Tenju 1375–1381 · Kōwa 1381–1384 · Genchū 1384–1392^‡

Muromachi period 1392–1573	Ōei 1394–1428 · Shōchō 1428–1429 · Eikyō 1429–1441 · Kakitsu 1441–1444 · Bun'an 1444–1449 · Hōtoku 1449–1452 · Kyōtoku 1452–1455 · Kōshō 1455–1457 · Chōroku 1457–1460 · Kanshō 1460–1466 · Bunshō 1466–1467 · Ōnin 1467–1469 · Bunmei 1469–1487 · Chōkyō 1487–1489 · Entoku 1489–1492 · Meiō 1492–1501 · Bunki 1501–1521 · Eishō 1504–1521 · Daiei 1521–1528 · Kyōroku 1528–1532 · Tenbun 1532–1555 · Kōji 1555–1558 · Eiroku 1558–1570 · Genki 1570–1573

Momoyama period 1573–1600	Tenshō 1573–1592 · Bunroku 1592–1596 · Keichō 1596–1615

Edo period 1600–1868	Genna 1615–1624 · Kan'ei 1624–1644 · Shōhō 1644–1648 · Keian 1648–1652 · Jōō 1652–1655 · Meireki 1655–1658 · Manji 1658–1661 · Kanbun 1661–1673 · Enpō 1673–1681 · Tenna 1681–1684 · Jōkyō 1684–1688 · Genroku 1688–1704 · Hōei 1704–1711 · Shōtoku 1711–1716 · Kyōhō 1716–1736 · Genbun 1736–1741 · Kanpō 1741–1744 · Enkyō 1744–1748 · Kan'en 1748–1751 · Hōreki 1751–1764 · Meiwa 1764–1772 · An'ei 1772–1781 · Tenmei 1781–1789 · Kansei 1789–1801 · Kyōwa 1801–1804 · Bunka 1804–1818 · Bunsei 1818–1830 · Tenpō 1830–1844 · Kōka 1844–1848 · Kaei 1848–1854 · Ansei 1854–1860 · Man'en 1860–1861 · Bunkyū 1861–1864 · Genji 1864–1865 · Keiō 1865–1868

Modern Japan 1868–present	Meiji 1868–1912 · Taishō 1912–1926 · Shōwa 1926–1989 · Heisei 1989–present

^♯The Northern pretenders did not recognize the Genkō era. Gentoku continued to be used in the Northern Court until 1332. ^₪The Shōkyō era was recognized only by the Northern pretenders, not by the Southern Court. ^‡ Upon reunification of the Northern and Southern Courts in 1392, Genchū was discontinued. Meitoku was used until 1394.