Keicho

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Change of era

• 1596 : The era name was changed to Keicho to mark the passing of various natural disasters. The preceding era ended and a new one commenced on October 27th of the 5th Bunroku.

Events of the Keicho era

• 1596 (Keicho 1): Keicho Invasion
  Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea
  
  Two Japanese invasions of Korea and subsequent battles on the Korean peninsula took place from 1592 to 1598. Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the newly unified Japan into the first invasion with the professed goal of conquering Korea, the Jurchens, Ming Dynasty China, and India....
   (invasion of Korea
  Korea
  
  Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
  )
• September 18, 1598 (Keicho 3, 18th day of the 8th month): Toyotomi Hideyoshi
  Toyotomi Hideyoshi
  
  was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle....
  , the Taiko
  Taiko
  
  means "drum" in Japanese language . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming ....
   died in his Fushimi Castle
  Fushimi Castle
  
  , also known as Momoyama Castle or 'Fushimi-Momoyama Castle', is a Japanese castle in Kyoto, Kyoto Fushimi, Kyoto Wards of Japan. The current structure is a 1964 replica of the original built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi....
   at the age of 63.
• October 21, 1600 (Keicho 5, 15th day of the 9th month): Battle of Sekigahara
  Battle of Sekigahara
  
  The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more years for Ieyasu to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate,...
  . The Tokugawa clan
  Tokugawa clan
  
  The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains mystery....
   and its allies decisively vanquish all opposition.
• January 15, 1602 (Keicho 7, 24th day of the 11th month): A fire at the Hoko-ji
  Hoko-ji (Kyoto)
  
  is a temple in Kyoto, Japan, dating from the 16th century. Toyotomi Hideyoshi determined that the capital city should have a Daibutsu temple to surpass that of Nara, Nara....
   temple complex in Kyoto was caused by careless workmen; and the great image of the buddha and the structure housing the statue (the Daibutsu-den) were consumed by the flames.
• 1603 (Keicho 8): Tokugawa Ieyasu
  Tokugawa Ieyasu
  
  Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
   became Shogun
  Shogun
  
  is a military rank and historical title for Hereditary Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces of Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji characters: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun meaning military troops or warriors....
  , which effectively becomes the beginning of what will become the Edo bakufu
  Tokugawa shogunate
  
  The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
  . Toyotomi Hideyori
  Toyotomi Hideyori
  
  Toyotomi Hideyori , 1593 - June 5, 1615, was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan....
   was elevated to Naidaijin in Miyako Daijo-kan.
• 1604-1606 (Keicho 9-11): Tokugawa Ieyasu
  Tokugawa Ieyasu
  
  Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
   undertook the rebuilding of Asama Shrine
  Asama Shrine
  
  is a type of Jinja in Japan.Asama Shrines are dwelling places for the kami or spirit of the deity of volcanoes. Asama means "volcano" in an ancient form of Japanese....
   at the base of Mount Fuji
  Mount Fuji
  
  is the highest mountain in Japan at . Along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, it is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" . An active volcano that last erupted in 1707?08, Mount Fuji straddles the boundary of Shizuoka Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture Prefectures of Japan just west of Tokyo, from which it can be seen on a clear day....
   in Suruga province
  Suruga Province
  
  was an old provinces of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Shizuoka prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu province, Kai province, Sagami province, Shinano province, and Totomi Province provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay....
   in fulfillment of a vow and in gratitude for the help of the kami during the Battle of Sekigahara
  Battle of Sekigahara
  
  The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more years for Ieyasu to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate,...
   in 1600.
• 1605 (Keicho 10): Tokugawa Hidetada
  Tokugawa Hidetada
  
  was the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu....
   was named successor Shogun after his father "retires" from the position of Shogun.
• 1605 (Keicho 10): The first official map of Japan was ordered in this year and completed in 1639 at a scale of 1:280,000.
• January 23, 1605 (Keicho 10, 15th day of the 12th month): A new volcanic island, Hachijoko-jima, arose from the sea at the side of in the which stretch south and east from the Izu Peninsula.
• 1606 (Keicho 11): Construction began on Edo Castle
  Edo Castle
  
  , also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ota Dokan. It is located in Chiyoda, Tokyo in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province....
  .
• 1607 (Keicho 12): Construction began on Suruga castle in Suruga
  Suruga Province
  
  was an old provinces of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Shizuoka prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu province, Kai province, Sagami province, Shinano province, and Totomi Province provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay....
  ; and an ambassador from China arrived with greetings for the emperor of Japan.
• 1609 (Keicho 14): Invasion of Ryukyu
  Invasion of Ryukyu
  
  The invasion of Ryukyu by forces of the Japanese han of Satsuma Domain took place in 1609, and marked the beginning of the Ryukyu Kingdom's status as a vassal state under Satsuma....
   by Shimazu daimyo
  Daimyo
  
  The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
   of Satsuma.
• November 15, 1610 (Keicho 15, 30th day of the 9th month): Toyotomi Hideyori
  Toyotomi Hideyori
  
  Toyotomi Hideyori , 1593 - June 5, 1615, was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan....
   sponsors work which is begun to rebuild the Hoko-ji in line with the plans which his father had supported; and this will include recreating the Daibutsu of Kyoto in bronze to replace the wooden image which had been burned. At this time, Hideyori also decides to order a great bell cast in bronze.
• May 20, 1610 (Keicho 15, 27th day of the 3rd month): Hideyori came to Kyoto to visit the former-Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu
  Tokugawa Ieyasu
  
  Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
  ; and the same day, the emperor resigns in favor of his son Masahito. Emperor Go-Yozei
  Emperor Go-Yozei
  
  Emperor Go-Yozei was the 107th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from December 17, 1586 to May 9, 1611, corresponding to the transition between the Azuchi-Momoyama period and the Edo period....
   abdicates; and his son receives the succession (senso).
• 1611 (Keicho 16): Emperor Go-Mizunoo
  Emperor Go-Mizunoo
  
  [Image:GoMizunoo Kyoto.jpg|thumb|right|The tomb of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Kyoto Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
   formally accedes to the throne (sokui).
• 1613 (Keicho 18): In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura Tsunenaga
  Hasekura Tsunenaga
  
  Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga was a Japanese people samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyo of Sendai.In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura headed a diplomatic mission to the Holy See in Rome, traveling through New Spain and visiting various ports-of-call in Europe....
   headed a diplomatic mission to the Vatican
  Holy See
  
  The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church....
   in Rome, traveling through New Spain
  New Spain
  
  The Viceroyalty of New Spain , was the political unit of Spain territories in North America and Asia-Pacific. The territory included the present-day Southwestern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Philippines....
   (arriving in Acapulco
  Acapulco
  
  Acapulco is a city and major port in the Political divisions of Mexico of Guerrero on the Pacific Ocean coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City....
   and departing from Veracruz
  Veracruz
  
  Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
  ) and visiting various ports-of-call in Europe
  Europe
  
  Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
  . This historic mission is called the Keicho Embassy, ). On the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across Mexico in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manilla, and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. This is conventionally considered the first Japanese ambassador in the Americas
  Americas
  
  The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
   and in Europe.
• 1614 (Keicho 19): Siege of Osaka
  Siege of Osaka
  
  The was a series of battles undertaken by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages , and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment....
  . The Shogun vanquished Hideyori and set fire to Osaka Castle
  Osaka Castle
  
  is a Japanese castle in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.Originally called Ozakajo, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period....
  , and then he returned for the winter to Edo
  Edo
  
  , literally: Headlands and bays-door, "estuary", ), also Romanization of Japanese as Yedo or Yeddo, is the Geographical renaming of the Capital of Japan Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868....
  .
• August 24, 1614 (Keicho 19, 19th day of the 7th month): A new bronze bell for the Hoko-ji was cast successfully ; but despite dedication ceremony planning, Ieyasu forbade any further actions concerning the great bell:

• October 18, 1614 (Keicho 19, 25th day of the 10th month): A strong earthquake shook Kyoto.
• 1615 (Keicho 20): Osaka Summer Battle begins.

External links

• National Diet Library
  National Diet Library
  
  Established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy, the is the only national library in Japan....
  , "The Japanese Calendar"