Kaei

.

Change of era

*; February 28, 1848: The era name of "Kaei" (meaning "eternal felicity")Satow, Ernest Mason. (1905). [http://books.google.com/books?id=22cP2o20HrAC&pg=PP11&dq=haneda+port&lr=&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=0_1#PPA11,M1 "Japan 1853-1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari," p. 11.] ] was created to mark the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Kōmei.

The era name is derived from an aphorism in "The Book of the Song Dynasty": "A wise Emperor receives much help, One who esteems comfort is on the outside" (思皇享多祐、嘉楽永無央).

Events of the "Kaei" Era

* "Kaei 2" (1849): Medical practice of vaccination introduced by Dutch physician, Dr. Mohnike, at Dejima. [Whitney, Willis Norton. (1885). "Notes on the history of medical progress in Japan," "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," pp. 839-843.]
* "Kaei 6" (July, 1853): Commodore Matthew Perry, commanding the United States Navy's East Indies fleet, arrives in Japanese waters with four ships.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). "Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869," p. 323.]
* "Kaei 7" (1854): Commodore Perry returns to Edo Bay to force Japanese agreement to the Treaty of Kanagawa; and the chief Japanese negotiator was "Daigaku-no kami" Hayashi Akira (1800-1859), who was head of the Tokugawa bakufu's neo-Confucian academy in Edo, the "Shōhei-kō" ("Yushima Seidō"). [Sewall, John. (1905). "The Logbook of the Captain's Clerk: Adventures in the China Seas," p. lxiv; Cullen, Louis. (2003). "A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds," p. 178 n11.] :"Immediately, on signing and exchanging copies of the treaty, Commodore Perry presented the first commissioner, Prince Hayashi, with an American flag stating that this gift was the highest expression of national courtesy and friendship he could offer. The prince was deeply moved, and expressed his gratitude with evident feeling. The commodore next presented the other commissioners with gifts he had especially reserved for them. All business now having been concluded to the satisfaction of both delegations, the Japanese commissioners invited Perry and his officers to enjoy a feast and entertainment especially prepared for the celebration." -- "from American eyewitness account of the event" [Sewall, p. lxxiii; Hawks, Francis. (1856). "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan Performed in the Years 1852, 1853 and 1854 under the Command of Commodore M.C. Perry, United States Navy, " Vol. I, pp. 377-380.]
* "Kaei 7", the 6th day of the 4th month (May 2, 1854): Fire broke out in the Sentō, and the conflagration spread to the Imperial palace. Both were destroyed. The emperor took refuge at Shimokam and afterwards went to Shōgon-in. [Ponsonby-Fane, p. 323; Satow, [http://books.google.com/books?id=22cP2o20HrAC&pg=PP11&dq=haneda+port&lr=&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=0_1#PPA9,M1 pp. 9] -10.]

* "Kaei 7" (November 4-7, 1854): Great Nankaidō earthquakes and tsunamis kill 80,000 people. An earthquake and tsunami struck Shimoda on the Ize peninsula; and because the port had just been designated as the prospective location for a U.S. consulate, some construed the natural disasters as demonstration of the displeasure of the "kami". [Hammer, Joshua. (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=6O8VyhDbUPgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=yokohama+burning&sig=rbgbEDXJV5fht4wdSD1HBoAMANg#PPA65,M1 "Yokohama Burning: the Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II," p.65.] ]
* "Kaei 7", on the 27th day of the 11th month (1854): The era name was changed to Ansei (meaning "tranquil government"), which was meant to herald the beginning of a peaceful period. The impetus and explanation for this change of era names was said to have been the burning of the Palace in Kyoto in the preceding summer. [see above] ]

References

* Cullen, Louis M. (2003). "A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-5218-2155-X (cloth), ISBN 0-521-52918-2 (paper)
* Hawks, Francis. (1856). "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan Performed in the Years 1852, 1853 and 1854 under the Command of Commodore M.C. Perry, United States Navy," Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson by order of Congress, 1856; originally published in "Senate Executive Documents", No. 34 of 33rd Congress, 2nd Session. [reprinted by London: Trafalgar Square, 2005. ISBN 1-8458-8026-9 (paper)]
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956). "Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869." Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
* Satow, Ernest Mason. (1905). [http://books.google.com/books?id=22cP2o20HrAC&dq=haneda+port&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Japan 1853-1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari."] Tokyo: Naigwai Shuppan Kyokwai.
* Sewall, John S. (1905). "The Logbook of the Captain's Clerk: Adventures in the China Seas," Bangor, Maine: Chas H. Glass & Co. [reprint by Chicago: R.R. Donnelly & Sons, 1995] ISBN 0-5482-0912-X
* Whitney, Willis Norton. (1885). "Notes on the history of medical progress in Japan," "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," [reprinted from Vol. 12, pp. 245-270.] Yokohama: R.J. Meiklejohn & Company. [http://books.google.com/books?id=LH0IAAAAIAAJ&dq=whitney+%26+japan&as_brr=1 ...Link to digitized version of this lecture text]

External links

* National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e/ -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection]
* National Archives of Japan [http://jpimg.digital.archives.go.jp/jpg_prg/jgmWeb?%TmpFileDisp%env=jpeg2k_images/ezu/shoho_edozu_e.env ...Click link for map of Edo reproduced in the 6th year of "Kaei" (1853)]