Keiun

, also known as Kyōun, is a Japanese era name following "Taihō" and preceding "Wadō." The period spanned the years from 704 through 708. The reigning sovereigns were Mommu and Gemmei. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA60,M1 "Annales des empereurs du Japon," pp. 60] -63; Brown, Delmer "et al." (1979). "Gukanshō," pp. 270-271; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki." pp. 137-140.]

Change of era

* 704 nihongo|"Keiun gannen"|慶雲元年: The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in "Taihō" 4, on the 7th day of the 5th momth of 704.Brown, p. 271.]

Events of the "Keiun" era

* 697 ("Keiun 4"): Emperor Mommu dies, but his son and heir was deemed too young to receive the succession ("senso"). Instead, the mother of the heir formally accedes to the throne ("sokui") as Empress Gemmei until her son would grow mature enough to accept "senso" and "sokui". [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.] ]
* August 16, 707 ("Keiun 4, 15th day of the 6th month"): Genmei is enthroned at the age of 48.
* 707 ("Keiun 4"): Deposits of copper was reported to have been found in Musashi province in the region which includes modern day Tokyo.Titsingh, [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran#PRA1-PA63,M1 p. 63.] ]
* 708 ("Keiun 5"):, The era name was about to be changed to mark the accession of Empress Gemmei; but the choice of "Wadō" as the new "nengō" for this new reign became a way to mark the welcome discovery of copper in the Chichibu District of what is now Saitama Prefecture. The Japanese word for copper is "dō" (銅); and since this was indigenous copper, the "wa" (the ancient Chinese term for Japan) could be combined with the "dō" (copper) to create a new composite term -- "wadō" -- meaning "Japanese copper."

Notes

References

* Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220] , "Gukanshō; "The Future and the Past: a translation and study of the 'Gukanshō,' an interpretive history of Japan written in 1219" translated from the Japanese and edited by Delmer M. Brown & Ichirō Ishida." Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652] . "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran Annales des empereurs du Japon.] " Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359] , "Jinnō Shōtōki; "A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: 'Jinnō Shōtōki' of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley." New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4

External links

* National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]