Keian

.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du japon," p. 412.]

Change of era

*, 1648: The new era name was created in response to criticism that "Shōhō" was too closely related to "Shōbō" (焼亡, meaning "death by burning"). The previous era ended and a new one commenced in "Shōhō" 5, on the 2nd day of the 5th month.

The new era name was drawn from the Chinese classic, The I Ching: "At the end happiness, joy of quiet righteousness, answer the world unlimited" (乃終有慶、安貞之吉、応地無疆):

Events of the "Keian" era

* "Keian 2", on the 20th day of the 2nd month (1649): There was a major earthquake in Edo. [see above] ]
* "Keian 4" (1651): Keian Uprising. Plans by well-organized ronin to attack several Tokugawa strongholds simultaneously were timely discovered. The attempt plan to overthrow the Edo Bakufu by Marubashi Chuya and Yui Shōsetsu was thwarted. [Screech, T. (2006). "Secret Memoirs of the Shogans: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822," pp. 85-89.]
* "Keian 5", in the 5th month (1652): "Nihon Ōdai Ichiran" is first published in Kyoto under the patronage of the tairō Sakai Tadakatsu, daimyo of the Obama Domain of Wakasa Province. [Titsingh, p. 412. [The first copy of this rare book was brought from Japan to Europe by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. Titsingh translated the text from Japanese and Chinese; and his work was then supplemented for posthumous publication by Julius Klaproth. The initial Japanese authorship is confirmed; the precise "nengō"-dating is confirmed in the same passage at p. 406.] ]

References

* 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. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ... Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)]

External links

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

Keian	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Gregorian	1648	1649	1650	1651	1652

Preceded by: "Shōhō"

Era or "nengō": Keian

Succeeded by: "Jōō"