Editing Module:Taika (era)

{{Short description|Period in Japan history (645–650 CE)}}
{{History of Japan| Image explanation = [[Shōsōin]]}}
{{nihongo|'''Taika'''|大化|}} was a {{nihongo|[[Japanese era name]]|年号|''nengō''}} during the reign of [[Emperor Kōtoku|Kōtoku]].<ref name="t47-49">Tisingh, Isaac. (1834). {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|''Annales des empereurs du Japon'', pp. 47-49.|page=47}}</ref> The Taika  era immediately preceded the ''[[Hakuchi (era)|Hakuchi era]].''  This period spanned the years from August 645 through February 650.<ref name="nussbaum924">Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Taika''" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 924|page=9247}}; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'' [http://dispatch.opac.ddb.de/DuuB=4.1/PPN?PPN=128842709 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File].</ref>

==History==
In 645, also known as {{nihongo|''Taika  1''|大化元年|}}, the new era name was created to mark the beginning of the reign of the emperor [[Emperor Kōtoku|Kōtoku]].  The previous reign ended and the new one commenced in the fourth year after the beginning of [[Empress Kōgyoku]]'s reign.<ref name="t47-49"/>

In Japan, this was the first [[Japanese era name|nengō]], derived from the [[Chinese era name|Chinese system of eras]] (''[[nianhao]]'');<ref name="nussbaum924"/> although some scholarly doubt has been cast on the authenticity of ''Taika'' and ''Hakuchi'' as historically legitimate era names.<ref>Bialock, David T. (2007). {{Google books|kfWvoVERWREC|Eccentric Spaces, Hidden Histories: Narrative, Ritual, and Royal Authority from the Chronicles of Japan to the Tale of the Heike|page=56}}; excerpt at p. 57, "Whether the era name of ''Taika'' and ''Hakuchi'' are viewed as evidence of an actual precedent set by Kōtoku or as the work of chroniclers belonging to a later reign around the time of ''Nihon Shoki''{{'}}s editing, the practice of assigning era names inaugurated a new phase in the consolidation of the court's expanding political power."</ref>

===Timeline===
{{Timelines of nengo and reigns}}
The system of Japanese era names was not the same as [[List of Emperors of Japan|Imperial reign dates]].

==Events of the ''Taika'' era==
* '''645''' (''Taika 1''):  Empress Kōgyoku abdicates; and her brother receives the succession (''senso'').  Shortly thereafter, Emperor Kōtoku formally accedes to the throne (''sokui'').<ref>Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki'', p. 44; a distinct act of ''senso'' is unrecognized prior to [[Emperor Tenji]]; and all sovereigns except [[Empress Jitō|Jitō]], [[Emperor Yōzei|Yōzei]], [[Emperor Go-Toba|Go-Toba]], and [[Emperor Fushimi|Fushimi]] have ''senso'' and ''sokui'' in the same year until the reign of [[Emperor Go-Murakami]].</ref>
* '''645''' (''Taika 1''): Kōtoku introduces the {{nihongo|[[Taika reform]]|大化の改新| ''Taika no kaishin''}}. The ideas and goals of this {{nihongo|systemic reform|律令|''[[ritsuryō]]''}} were memorialized in a series of articles which formally bore the imprimatur of the emperor.  Kōtoku officially divided Japan into eight provinces.  The Taika reforms also sought to regulate the rank of government officials who were to be distinguished by 19 sorts of official hats or caps with differing forms and different colors according to a very strictly-defined hierarchy.<ref name="t48">Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran&pg=PP9   p. 48.]</ref>
* '''645''' (''Taika 1''): Kōtoku decides to abandon [[Asuka, Yamato|Asuka]], which had been the capital city up to this time.  Instead, he transferred the capital to [[Osaka|Naniwa]], which is in the general vicinity of the Bay of Osaka.  In this new location, Kōtoku centralized his power without further delay.  Kōtoku lived in a palace which had been newly constructed for him on a promontory.  The name of this palace was Toyosaki-no-Miya.  The palace was at [[Nagara, Chiba|Nagara]], in the general area of [[Osaka|Naniwa]] in [[Settsu province]].<ref>Brown, Delmer ''et al.'' (1979). ''Gukanshō'', p. 266; [http://www.city.osaka.jp/english/index.html  Osaka City website:] [http://www.city.osaka.jp/english/for_tourists/c_historical_overview.html Osaka, history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106162354/http://www.city.osaka.jp/english/for_tourists/c_historical_overview.html |date=2007-11-06 }}</ref>
* '''646''' (''Taika 2, 1st day of the 1st month''):  Kōtoku established a regular calendar for the court, with major audiences scheduled only on certain days.  The emperor also addressed a number of matters which would affect all parts of Japan—as for example, creating judicial districts, establishing guard posts on major roads, arranging for postal relay systems, dividing the country in governable units with separations following the natural boundaries created by mountains and rivers, appointing governors for each province, and fixing the amounts porters might be able to charge.  Kōtoku named the chiefs in the districts and the villages; and for the first time, it became possible to register the number of houses and the numbers of people in each location, the taxes to be exacted from each area and the varying products from throughout the land.  He also mandated that from every hundred households, one beautiful young woman should be sent for service in the palace household.  He arranged that in each year, an officer from the central court should be sent to each province to examine the conduct of the governors and their government.  The emperor also initiated plans for building storehouses of goods and arsenals which would serve the needs of a national army or militia.<ref name="t48"/>  The ''[[udaijin]]'' [[Sogo Yamada Ishikawa Maro]] was specifically charged with the task of planning so that all the faults that could be attributed to mistakes of government would not happen—or could be mitigated.  This was also a time in which the greater part of the rules of etiquette and customs of the court were revised or contrived.  [[Emperor Tenji|Naka-no Ōe]]''-shinnō (imperial prince of a [[shinnōke]]'' and the ''sesshō'' [[Nakatomi no Kamatari]] counseled these and other measures intended to make Japan a better and stronger country.<ref name="b266t49">Brown, p. 266; Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran&pg=PP9  p. 49.]</ref>
* '''649''' (''Taika 5,7th day of the third month''): The ''[[sadaijin]]'' [[Abe no Kurahashi Maro]] died.<ref name="b266">Brown, p. 266.</ref>
* '''649''' (''Taika 5, 3rd month''):  [[Sogo-no Kiyouga]], the younger brother of the ''udaijin'' [[Soga Yamada Ishikawa Maro]], informed the emperor that his older brother was involved in a conspiracy against the emperor.  On the basis of this information, Kōtoku sent men to the ''udaijin''{{'}}s home with plans to put the traitor to death.  Yamada somehow learned about this in advance, and he then decided to kill himself.  Shortly thereafter, after Yamada's innocence had been proven, the surviving brother, Kiyouga, was punished.  For his part in misleading the emperor and in causing the ''udaijin'' to kill himself, Kiyouga was exiled to [[Tokachi Subprefecture|Tokachi]] on the northern island of [[Hokkaidō]], which was a largely unpopulated wilderness at that time.<ref name="b266t49"/>
* '''649''' (''Taika 5,20th day of the 4th month''): [[Kose no Toko no Ō-omi]] (593-658) was named ''sadaijin'' shortly after his predecessor died.<ref name="b266"/>
* '''649''' (''Taika 5, 4th month''):  [[Ōtomo Nagatoko no Muraji]] was made ''udaijin''.<ref name="b266"/>
* '''649''' (''Taika 5''):  In this year, the Emperor decreed the establishment of a new system of government, (the ''[[hasshō hyakkan]]''), which was composed of eight ministries and 100 bureaus.<ref>Varley, p. 133; Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran&pg=PP9  p. 49.]</ref>
* '''650''' (''Taika 6''):  The ''Hakuchi'' era began in the sixth year of the ''Taika'' era.  The daimyō of [[Nagato province]] brought a white pheasant to the court as a gift for the emperor.  This white pheasant was then construed as a good omen.  Emperor Kōtoku was extraordinarily pleased by this special avian rarity, and he wanted the entire court to see this white bird for themselves.  He commanded a special audience in which he could formally invite the ''sadaijin'' and the ''udaijin'' to join him in admiring the rare bird; and on this occasion, the emperor caused the [[nengō]] to be changed to Hakuchi (meaning "white pheasant").<ref>Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran&pg=PP9  p. 49.]</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* Bialock, David T. (2007). ''Eccentric Spaces, Hidden Histories: Narrative, Ritual, and Royal Authority from the Chronicles of Japan to the Tale of the Heike.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|9780804751582}} {{ISBN|0804751587}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/237216457  OCLC 237216457]
* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&q=Gukansho  ''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.''] Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-03460-0}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/251325323  OCLC 251325323]
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC  ''Japan encyclopedia.''] Cambridge: [[Harvard University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58053128?referer=di&ht=edition  OCLC 58053128]
* [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac.]] (1834). ''[[Nihon Odai Ichiran]]''; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran  ''Annales des empereurs du Japon.'']  Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5850691 OCLC 5850691]
* [[H. Paul Varley|Varley, H. Paul]]. (1980). ''A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa.'' New York: [[Columbia University Press]].  {{ISBN|9780231049405}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6042764  OCLC 6042764]

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

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = &mdash;
| title = [[Japanese era name|Era or ''nengō'']]<br>Taika
| years = 645–650
| after = [[Hakuchi (era)|Hakuchi]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Kōgyoku period]]<br><small>642–645</small>
| title = [[List of Emperors of Japan|Imperial reign dates]]<br>Kōtoku period
| years = 645–654
| after = &mdash;
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Japanese era name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taika}}
[[Category:Japanese eras]]
[[Category:645]]
[[Category:640s beginnings]]
[[Category:7th century in Japan]]
[[Category:650 endings]]
[[Category:7th-century neologisms]]