Keiō

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Keiō ( Japanese 慶 応 ) is a Japanese era ( Nengō ), which corresponds to the years 1865 to 1868 of the Gregorian calendar . The previous era name is Genji , the succeeding era is Meiji .

conversion

Due to the lunisolar calendar used in Japan until 1872, the days and months do not correspond to those of the Gregorian calendar. Keiō 1/1/1 ( 慶 応 元年 一月 一日 ) is January 27, 1865. In 1868 / Keiō 4, Emperor Mutsuhito , who had defeated the throne in January 1867, changed the era name to Meiji on September 8th. Since then, there has been no change of the era name during the reign of an emperor.

Events

The Keiō era was a time of decisive political upheaval in Japan. 1865, Japan was in the hot phase of the Bakumatsu -time, the end time of the Tokugawa - shogunate .

prehistory

Under pressure from foreign powers, the shogunate lifted the lockdown of Japan in the 1850s and allowed foreigners into the country, albeit against massive resistance from the ruling emperor Kōmei and his followers, especially from the Han Chōshū , who wore themselves under the slogan Sonnō jōi ("worships the emperor and drive out the barbarians ”).

The opposing side, led by Satsuma and Aizu , tried to unite the two centers of power Edo (Shogunate) and Kyōto (imperial court) under the slogan Kōbu gattai . To this end, the young shogun Tokugawa Iemochi married the emperor's half-sister, Princess Kazunomiya .

The situation in Kyōto worsened due to fighting by militias on both sides, until in 1865 Chōshū finally dared an attack on the imperial palace defended by Satsuma and Aizu , the uprising at the Hamaguri Gate , which was suppressed.

Keiō era

Emperor Kōmei then declared a new era, Keiō (literally "jubilant answer"). To punish Chōshū for attacking the Imperial Palace, the Shōgunate undertook a second Chōshū expedition . However, Satsuma changed sides and opposes the shogunate. After Shogun Iemochi died in his hospital bed, his successor, Tokugawa Yoshinobu , tried to modernize the shogunate with the Keiō reform and, among other things, brought in French military advisers to modernize his troops, but nevertheless suffered a defeat against Chōshū.

On January 30, 1867, Emperor Kōmei died. In November, Yoshinobu declared under pressure from the imperial court and the new Satsuma-Chōshū alliance that government affairs would be returned to the imperial court, but this was not enough. In the battle of Toba-Fushimi on January 27, 1868 there was then a direct military confrontation between the imperial court and the shogunate; Yoshinobu was declared an enemy of the imperial court. Despite superior troop strength, the Shogunate was defeated in the first battle of the Boshin War and Yoshinobu fled to Edo .

The emperor's troops marched on to Edo. After long negotiations, Edo Castle was surrendered without bloodshed on May 3rd . With the Battle of Ueno , the imperial troops finally took over the city, and Emperor Meiji, who was crowned on October 12, moved his residence to Edo, which was then renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital"). The Meiji Period officially began on October 23 .

The Boshin War was not yet over, in Aizu the fighting lasted until September, on Hokkaidō the last defenders of the fortress of Hakodate were not defeated until May 1869.

Timeline

  • 1866 (Keiō 2): completion of the fortress of Hakodate ( Goryōkaku )
  • September 28, 1866 (Keiō 2/8/20): Shogun Iemochi dies in Osaka Castle ; Tokugawa Yoshinobu is nominated as his successor.
  • January 10, 1867 (Keiō 2/12/5): Yoshinobu is appointed shogun by the imperial court.
  • January 30, 1867 (Keiō 2/12/25): Emperor Komei dies.
  • November 10, 1867 (Keiō 3/10/15): An imperial edict demanded the return of government power to the imperial court ( 大 政 奉還 , taisei hōkan ).
  • January 6, 1868 (Keiō 3/12/10): "Restoration" of the imperial government ( 王政 復古 , Ōsei fukko )
  • January 27, 1868 (Keiō 4/1/3): Beginning of the Boshin War with the Battle of Toba-Fushimi .
  • September 3, 1868 (Keiō 4/7/17): Renaming of Edo to "Tōkyō" (eastern capital)
  • October 8, 1868 (Keiō 4/8/23): Beginning of the Battle of Aizu
  • October 12, 1868 (Keiō 4/8/27): Emperor Meiji is crowned in Shishin-den in Kyoto.
  • October 23, 1868 (Keiō 4/9/8): The Nengō is changed to Meiji; The emperor grants a general amnesty.
  • November 26, 1868 (Meiji 1/10/13): The Emperor takes possession of Edo Castle as a new imperial residence.

See also

  • Keiō reform
  • The Keio University , the oldest higher education institution in Japan, while in 1858 ( Ansei founded 5), but withdrew in 1868 (Keio 4) in a new building and therefore takes its name.
  • The railway company Keiō Dentetsu and the associated Keiō department store chain do not refer their name to the Keiō era, but to the terminus of the railway line, Tokyo ( 東京 , 京 here kei ) and Hachiōji ( 八 王子 , 王 , ō ).

Remarks

  1. ^ According to the conversion used by Ponsonby-Fane, the 4th, not the 6th January.

swell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Ponsonby-Fane, p. 326.
  2. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 327.
  3. ↑ a b c Ponsonby-Fane, p. 328.
  4. ↑ Ozaki, p. 21.
Keiō 1 2 3 4th
greg. 1865 - 66 1866- 67 1867- 68 1868
[until Gregorian October, then Meiji 1]
Previous:
Genji 		Nengō :
Keiō 		Hereafter:
Meiji