Genroku
Encyclopedia
was a after Jōkyō
and before Hōei
. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .
The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period
. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative economic stability. The arts and architecture flourished. There were unanticipated consequences when the shogunate debased the quality of coins as a strategy for financing the appearance of continuing Genroku affluence. This strategic miscalculation caused abrupt inflation. Then, in an effort to solve the ensuing crisis, the bakufu introduced what were called the Kyōhō Reforms
.
A sense of optimism is suggested in the era name choice of Genroku (meaning "Original happiness").
Jokyo
was a after Tenna and before Genroku. This period spanned the years from February 1684 through September 1688. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
and before Hōei
Hoei
was a after Genroku and before Shōtoku. This period spanned the years from March 1704 through April 1711. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .
The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative economic stability. The arts and architecture flourished. There were unanticipated consequences when the shogunate debased the quality of coins as a strategy for financing the appearance of continuing Genroku affluence. This strategic miscalculation caused abrupt inflation. Then, in an effort to solve the ensuing crisis, the bakufu introduced what were called the Kyōhō Reforms
Kyoho Reforms
The were an array of economic policies introduced by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1736 Japan. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Yoshimune, encompassing the first twenty years of his shogunate....
.
Change of era
; 1688: The new era name was created to mark the beginning of the reign of Higashiyama. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Jōkyō 5, on the 30th day of the 9th month.A sense of optimism is suggested in the era name choice of Genroku (meaning "Original happiness").
Events of the Genroku era
- 1688 (Genroku 1, 1st month): Ihara SaikakuIhara Saikakuwas a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose .-Biography:Born the son of the wealthy merchant Hirayama Tōgo in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku, and later studied under Nishiyama Sōin of the Danrin School of poetry, which emphasized...
publishes Japan's Eternal Treasury. - 1688 (Genroku 1, 11th month): Yanagisawa YoshiyasuYanagisawa Yoshiyasuwas a Japanese samurai of the Edo period He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and he was a favorite of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi....
assumes the office of Soba Yōnin. - 1688 (Genroku 1): The Tokugawa shogunateTokugawa shogunateThe Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
revised the code of conduct for funerals (Fuku-kiju-ryō), which incorporated a code of conduct for mourning as well. - 1689 (Genroku 2, 4th month): Foreign settlements in Nagasaki become possible.
- September 16, 1689 (Genroku 2, 3rd day of the 7th month): German physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
Engelbert KaempferEngelbert KaempferEngelbert Kaempfer , a German naturalist and physician is known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, South-East Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels...
arrives at DejimaDejimawas a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
. - 1690 (Genroku 3, 10th month): The Abandoned Child Ban was officially proclaimed.
- 1692 (Genroku 5): Building of temples in EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
banned. - 1693 (Genroku 6, 12th month): Arai HakusekiArai Hakusekiwas a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name...
becomes tutor to the daimyōDaimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of Kōfu-hanHan (Japan)The or domain was the name of the estate belonging to a warrior in Japan after the 17th century. The fiefs of the daimyos of the samurai class of Japan during the Edo period were called han.-Edo period:...
, the future ShōgunShogunA was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
Tokugawa IenobuTokugawa Ienobuwas the sixth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the great-grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-great grandson of Tokugawa...
. - 1693 (Genroku 6): The code of conduct for funerals is revised again.
- 1695 (Genroku 8, 2nd month): Land survey performed of territory under the direct control of the bakufu in Kantō.
- 1695 (Genroku 8, 8th month): Minting begun of Genroku coinage. The shogunate placed the Japanese character gen (元) on the obverse of copper coins, the same character used today in China for the yuanChinese yuanThe yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...
. There is no connection between those uses, however. - 1695 (Genroku 8, 11th month): First kennel is established for stray dogs in EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
. In this context, Tokugawa TsunayoshiTokugawa Tsunayoshiwas the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
comes to be nicknamed "the Dog Shogun"
- 1697 (Genroku 10): The fourth official map of Japan was made in this year, but it was considered to be inferior to the previous one—which had been ordered in ShōhōShohowas a after Kan'ei and before Keian. This period spanned the years from December 1644 through February 1648. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:* 1644 : The era name was changed to Shōhō to mark the enthronement of the new emperor Go-Kōmyō...
1 (1605) and completed in Kan'ei 16 (1639). This Genroku map was corrected in KyōhōKyohowas a after Shōtoku and before Gembun. This period spanned the years from July 1716 through April 1736. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
4 (1719) by the mathematician Tatebe Katahiro (1644–1739), using high mountain peaks as points of reference, and was drawn to a scale of 1:21,600. - 1697 (Genroku 10): Great fire in Edo. Five-storied Pagoda
- 1698 (Genroku 11): Another great fire in Edo. A new hall is constructed inside the enclosure of the Edo temple of Kan'ei-jiKan'ei-ji-External links:** * National Diet Library: ; *...
(which is also known as Tōeizan Kan’ei-ji or "Hiei-san of the east" after the temple of Enryaku-jiEnryaku-jithumb|300px|Konpon Chū-dō , Enryaku-ji's main hall is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was founded during the early Heian period. The temple complex was established by Saichō , also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayana Buddhism...
at Mount HieiMount Hieiis a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, Japan.The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tiantai sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by Saichō in 788. Both Nichiren and Honen studied at the temple before...
near to Heian-kyo). - 1700 (Genroku 13, 11th month): Exchange rate of silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
coinCoinA coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s established. - 1703 (Genroku 16, 3rd month): Ōishi YoshioOishi Yoshiowas the chamberlain of the Akō Domain in Harima Province , Japan . He is known as the leader of the Forty-seven Ronin in their 1702 vendetta and thus the hero of the Chūshingura...
commits seppukuSeppukuis a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
. - 1703 (Genroku 16, 5th month): First performance of Chikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...
's play The Love Suicides at SonezakiThe Love Suicides at SonezakiThe Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a love-suicide play by Chikamatsu. While not his first one nor his most popular , it is probably the most popular of his "domestic tragedies" or "domestic plays" as Donald Keene characterizes the...
. - December 31, 1703 (Genroku 16, 23rd day of the 11th month): The Great Genroku Earthquake1703 Genroku earthquakeThe occurred at 02:00 local time on December 31 . The epicenter was near Edo, the forerunner of present-day Tokyo, in the southern part of the Kantō Region, Japan. It shook Edo and an estimated 2,300 people were killed by the shaking and subsequent fires...
shook Edo and parts of the shogun's castle collapsed. The following day, a vast fire spread throughout the city. Parts of Honshū's coast were battered by tsunami, and 200,000 people were either killed or injured.
Prominent figures of the Genroku era
- Chikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...
—jōruriBunraku, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
playwright - Ichikawa Danjūrō IIchikawa Danjūrō IIchikawa Danjūrō I was an early kabuki actor in Japan. He remains today one of the most famous of all kabuki actors and is considered one of the most influential...
, Sakata Tōjūrō ISakata Tojuro I' was an early kabuki actor of the Genroku period in Japan. He was a pioneer of the wagoto style, and of Kamigata kabuki more generally. His influence persists in the lineage of actors who have taken up his artistic mantle....
, Yoshizawa Ayame IYoshizawa Ayame IYoshizawa Ayame I was an early Kabuki actor, and the most celebrated onnagata of his time. His thoughts on acting, and on onnagata acting in particular, are recorded in Ayamegusa , one section of the famous treatise on Kabuki acting, Yakusha Rongo .A.C...
—kabuki actors - Ihara SaikakuIhara Saikakuwas a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose .-Biography:Born the son of the wealthy merchant Hirayama Tōgo in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku, and later studied under Nishiyama Sōin of the Danrin School of poetry, which emphasized...
—novelist - Arai HakusekiArai Hakusekiwas a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name...
—Confucian scholar and shogunal advisor - The Forty-seven RoninForty-seven RoninThe revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...
- Ogata KorinOgata Korinwas a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school.-Early life:Kōrin was born in Kyoto, to a wealthy merchant who had a taste for the arts and is said to have given his son some elementary instruction therein...
and Ogata KenzanOgata Kenzan, originally , and also known by the pseudonym Shisui, was a Japanese potter and painter, a younger brother of Ogata Korin. He was born in Kyoto in a rich marchant family and died in Edo . He had learned after the famous potter NONOMURA NINNSEI and made his own kiln. Since in 1712 a nobleman...
—Rinpa school artists - Torii Kiyonobu, Hishikawa MoronobuHishikawa Moronobuwas a Japanese painter and printmaker known for his advancement of the ukiyo-e woodcut style starting in the 1670s.-Early life and training:Moronobu was the son of a well-respected dyer and a gold and silver-thread embroiderer in the village of Hodamura, Awa Province, near Edo Bay. After moving to...
, Miyagawa ChōshunMiyagawa Choshunwas a Japanese painter in the ukiyo-e style. Founder of the Miyagawa school, he and his pupils are among the few ukiyo-e artists to have never created woodblock prints. He was born in Miyagawa, in Owari province, but lived much of his later life in Edo, where he died...
—ukiyo-eUkiyo-e' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
artists
External links
- National Diet LibraryNational Diet LibraryThe is the only national library in Japan. 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 U.S...
, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection - New York Public Library Digital Gallery, Engelbert Kaempfer's 1691 impression of Hōkō-ji compound (published 1727)
| Genroku | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th |
| Gregorian Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter... | 1688 | 1689 | 1690 | 1691 | 1692 | 1693 | 1694 | 1695 | 1696 | 1697 | 1698 | 1699 | 1700 | 1701 | 1702 | 1703 | 1704 |
Preceded by: Jōkyō Jokyo was a after Tenna and before Genroku. This period spanned the years from February 1684 through September 1688. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:... | Era or nengō Japanese era name The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era... : Genroku | Succeeded by: Hōei Hoei was a after Genroku and before Shōtoku. This period spanned the years from March 1704 through April 1711. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:... |