KEIUN

'''Keiun''' (Japanese: 慶雲) was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) after ''Taihō'' and before ''Wadō.'' This period spanned the years from 704 through 708. The reigning emperor and empress were Mommu''-tennō'' (文武天皇) and Gemmei''-tennō'' (元明天皇).^[1]

Contents

Change of Era

Events of the ''Keiun'' Era

References

Notes

Further reading

External links

Change of Era

★ '''Keiun 1''' (慶雲元年; 704): The new era name ''Keiun'' (meaning "_____") was created because _____. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''Taihō'' 5.

Events of the ''Keiun'' Era

★ '''Keiun 4''' (697): 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''.^[2]

★ '''Keiun 4''', on the 15th day of the 6th month (707): Genmei is enthroned at the age of 48.^[3]

★ '''Keiun 4''' (707): Deposits of copper was reported to have been found in Musashi province in the region which includes modern day Tokyo.^[4]

★ '''Keiun 5''' (708):, 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.^[4] 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."

References

Notes

1. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du Japon,'' p. 60.
2. 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 Go-Murakami.]
3. Brown, p. 271.
4. Titsingh, p. 63.
5. Titsingh, p. 63.

Further reading

★ Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida, eds. (1979). ''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, 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.--''Two digitized examples of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitized January 30, 2007; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitized June 23, 2006.'' Click here to read the original text in French.

★ Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chitafusa, 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" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection

Keiun	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Gregorian	704	705	706	707	708

Preceded by: ''Taihō''

' Era or ''nengō'': 'Keiun

Succeeded by: ''Wadō''