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Change of era
- Genbun gannen (元文元年?); 1736: To mark the enthronement of Sakuramachi, the era was changed to Gembun (meaning "Original civility"). The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Kyōhō 21, on the 21st day of the 4th month.
Events of the Genbun era
- Genbun 1 1736: The shogunate published an edict declaring that henceforth, the sole, authorized coinage in the empire would be those copper coins which were marked n the obverse with the character 文 (pronounced bun in Japanese or pronounced wen in Chinese -- which is to say, the same character which is found in this era name of Genbun.[2]
- Genbun 2, in the 11th month (1737): A comet is noticed in the western part of the sky.[2]
- Genbun 3 (1738): Esoteric Shinto rituals Daijō-ye (大嘗會, ダイジヤウヱ,?, Daijō-sai) were performed by the emperor.[2]
- Genbun 4 (1739): Some foundrymen in Edo are commanded to create iron coins for use across the empire.[2]
- Genbun 4 (1739): Hosokawa Etchū-no-kami of Higo was killed in Edo castle by Itakura Katsukane, and the killer was ordered to commit suicide as just punishment; however, Shogun Yoshimune personally intervened to mitigate the adverse consequences for the killer's fudai family.[3]
- Genbun 5, on the 16th day of the 7th month (August 8, 1740): Great floods in Heian-kyō. Sanjo Bridge is washed away.[4]
- Genbun 5, on the 24th day of the 11th month (January 11, 1741): The esoteric Niiname-matsuri ceremonies were performed. This specific ceremony had otherwise been held in abeyance for the previous 280 years.[4]
- Genbun 5, on the 25th day of the 11th month (January 12, 1741: The esoteric Toyonoakari-no-sechiye ceremonies were performed.[4]
References
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A.B. (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital, 794-1869. Kyoto: Ponsonby-Fane Memorial.
- Screech, Timon. (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-700-71720-X
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)
External links
- National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
| Genbun | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| Gregorian | 1736 | 1737 | 1738 | 1739 | 1740 | 1741 |
| Preceded by Kyōhō |
Era or nengō Genbun 1736 – 1741 |
Succeeded by Kanpō |
