Editing Module:Ansei

{{Short description|Period of Japanese history (1854–1860)}}
{{History of Japan |image=Shoso-in.jpg |caption=[[Shōsōin]]}}

{{nihongo|'''Ansei'''|安政}} was a {{nihongo|[[Japanese era name]]|年号|''nengō''|"year name"}} after ''[[Kaei]]'' and before ''[[Man'en]]''.  This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860.<ref>Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Ansei''" {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 33|page=33}}; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'' [https://archive.today/20120524174828/http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File].</ref>  The reigning emperor was {{nihongo|[[Emperor Kōmei|Kōmei]]''-tennō''|孝明天皇}}.

== Change of era ==
* '''November 27, 1854''' ({{nihongo|''Ansei gannen''|安政元年}}):  The new era name of ''Ansei'' (meaning "tranquil government") was created 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.<ref name="s11">Satow, Ernest Mason. (1905). [https://books.google.com/books?id=22cP2o20HrAC&pg=PP11  ''Japan 1853–1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari'', p. 11.]</ref>

The new era name was derived from an hortatory aphorism: "Rule peacefully over the masses, then the ruler will remain in his place"  (庶民'''安政'''、然後君子安位矣).

Although the notion seems appealing, the arrival of the [[Black Ships]] and Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]] is not specifically recognized as a factor in the change of era names.

== Events of the ''Ansei'' era ==
* '''1854''' (''Ansei 1''): The [[1854 Ansei-Tōkai earthquake|Ansei-Tōkai Quake]] (安政東海地震, ''Ansei Tōkai Jishin'') was an 8.4 magnitude earthquake which struck on December 23, 1854. The [[epicenter]] ranged from [[Suruga Bay]] to the deep ocean, and struck primarily in the [[Tōkai region]], but destroyed houses as far away as in [[Edo]]. The accompanying [[tsunami]] caused damage along the entire coast from the [[Bōsō Peninsula]] in modern-day [[Chiba Prefecture]] to [[Tosa Province]] (modern-day [[Kōchi Prefecture]])<ref name="ansei_daijishin">_____. (2007). {{nihongo|"Great Earthquakes of Ansei"|安政大地震|Ansei Daijishin}} in {{nihongo|''Historical Encyclopedia of Great Edo''|大江戸歴史百科|Ō-Edo Rekishi Hyakka}}, p. 253.</ref>
* '''1854''' (''Ansei 1''): The [[1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake|Ansei-Nankai Quake]] (安政南海地震, ''Ansei Nankai Jishin'') was an 8.4 magnitude earthquake which struck on December 24, 1854. Over 10,000 people from the Tōkai region down to Kyushu were killed.<ref name="ansei_daijishin"/>
* '''1855''' (''Ansei 2''): Work was begun on re-constructing the Imperial Palace after the devastating fire of ''[[Kaei]]'' 7, and the project was completed in nine months.<ref name="p324">Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' p. 324.</ref>
* '''1855''' (''Ansei 2, 21st day of the 11th month''): The emperor moved into the reconstructed palace, having previously lived in the Shōgo-in and then [[Katsura-no-miya]].  The people were permitted to view the grand Imperial progress.<ref name="p324"/>
* '''November 11, 1855''' (''Ansei 2''): [[1855 Edo earthquake]], one of the [[Ansei great earthquakes]], with resulting fire damage and loss of life.<ref>[https://historycooperative.org/journal/shaking-up-japan-edo-society-and-the-1855-catfish-picture-prints/ Smitts, Gregory. "Shaking up Japan: Edo Society and the 1855 Catfish Picture Prints"] ''Journal of Social History'', No 39, No. 4, Summer 2006.</ref>  Epicenter – (Latitude: 36.000/Longitude: 140.000), 6.9 magnitude on the [[Richter Scale]].<ref>[http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov "Significant Earthquake Database"] U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)</ref>
* '''November 15, 1857''' (''Ansei 4''): [[Nagasaki Medical School]] is opened.  Dr. Pompe van Meerdevoort gave the first formal public lecture on medical and surgical sciences at the new school, which became as well the first such lecture to be delivered in any Japanese venue.<ref>Whitney, Willis Norton. (1885). "Notes on the history of medical progress in Japan", ''Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan'', pp. 841–842.</ref>
* '''1858–1860''' (''Ansei 5-Ansei 7''): [[Cholera]] outbreak is believed to have killed between 100,000 and 200,000 people in [[Edo]] alone.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kaoru Sugihara|author2=Peter G. Robb|author3=Haruka Yanagisawa|title=Local Agrarian Societies in Colonial India: Japanese Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ps-IesBlzkC&pg=PA313|year=1996|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7007-0471-2|page=313}}</ref>
* '''April 9, 1858''' (''Ansei 5''): The [[1858 Hietsu earthquake]] kills hundreds.
* '''1858''' (''Ansei 5''): The initial establishment of [[Keio University]], seven years before the beginning of the ''Keio'' era; nevertheless, the university was named after the later era.  This is the oldest existing institution of higher learning in Japan.<ref>Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). ''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio'', p. 21.</ref>
* '''July 29, 1859''' (''Ansei 5''):  [[Tairō]] [[Ii Naosuke]] signs Japanese-American [[Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States – Japan)|Treaty of Amity and Commerce]] (also known as the "Harris Treaty"), which was a follow-up to the 1854 [[Treaty of Kanagawa]].<ref>Cullen, Louis. (2003). ''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds'',  p. 180–186.</ref>
* '''1858''' (''Ansei 5''): Beginning of [[Ansei Purge]] at the order of Ii Naosuke on behalf of the [[bakufu]].<ref>Cullen, pp. 184–188.</ref>
* '''1860''' (''Ansei 7''): Fire at [[Edo Castle]].
[[File:SakuradaGate2.jpg|thumb|Edo Castle's Sakurada Gate (''Sakurada-mon''): The assassination of Ii Naosuke occurred nearby.]] 
* '''March 24, 1860''' (''Man'en 1''):  Ii Naosuke was assassinated, also known as the "[[Sakuradamon incident (1860)|Sakurada-mon Incident]]"<ref>Kusunoki, pp. 52–66; Cullen, p. 184.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ansei Treaties]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|1}}

==References==
* [[Louis Cullen|Cullen, Louis M.]] (2003). ''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds.'' Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]]. {{ISBN|9780521821551}}; {{ISBN|9780521529181}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50694793  OCLC 50694793]
* Kusunoki Sei'ichirō (1991). ''Nihon shi omoshiro suiri: Nazo no satsujin jiken wo oe''. Tokyo: Futami bunko.
* [[Ozaki Yukio|Ozaki]], Yukio. (2001). ''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan.'' [Translated by Fujiko Hara]. Princeton: [[Princeton University Press]]. {{ISBN|9780691050959}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45363447  OCLC 45363447]
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge: [[Harvard University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48943301/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br OCLC 48943301]
* [[Richard Ponsonby-Fane|Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B.]] (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/559477127  OCLC 559477127]
* [[Ernest Satow|Satow, Ernest Mason]]. (1905). ''Japan 1853–1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari.'' Tokyo: Naigwai Shuppan Kyokwai. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/643621953  OCLC 643621953]
* {{cite book|last=Whitney|first=Willis Norton|title=Notes on the History of Medical Progress in Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LH0IAAAAIAAJ|year=1885|publisher=R.J. Meiklejohn & Company|location=Yokohama}}

== 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 Diet Library, [http://www.ndl.go.jp/scenery/e/data/234/index.html photograph of Sakurada-mon (1909)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071214233403/http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob58.html Text of Treaty of Peace and Amity (1858)]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = {{nihongo|[[Kaei]]|嘉永}}
| title = [[Japanese era name|Era or ''nengō'']]<br>{{nihongo|Ansei|安政}}
| years = 27 November 1854 – 17 March 1860
| after = {{nihongo|[[Man'en]]|万延}}
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Japanese era name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansei}}
[[Category:Japanese eras]]
[[Category:1850s in Japan]]
[[Category:1860s in Japan]]
[[Category:1854 introductions]]
[[Category:1854 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1860s disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1850s neologisms]]