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The Saimei period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Saimei period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1315th year of the imperial dynasty. [1]
This periodization is congruent with the reign of Empress Saimei, which is traditionally considered to have been from 655 through 662. [2]
The adoption of the Sexagenary cycle calendar (Jikkan Jūnishi) in Japan is attributed to Empress Suiko in 604; [3] and this Chinese calendar continued in use throughout the Saimei period.
In 645, the system of Japanese era names (年号,, nengō,, lit. "year name") was introduced. [4] However, after the reign of Emperor Kotoku, this method of segmenting was temporarily abandoned or allowed to lapse. This interval continued during the Saimei period.
Neither Empress Saimei's reign nor the Saimei periodization are included in the list of nengō for this explicit duration of time, which comes after Hakuchi and before Suchō.
In the post-Taika or pre-Taihō chronology, the first year of Empress Saimei's reign (斉明天皇元年 or 斉明天皇1年) is also construed as the first year of the Saimei period (斉明1年). [5]
Non-nengō periods in the pre-Taihō calendar were published in 1880 by William Bramsen. [1] These were refined in 1952 by Paul Tuschihashi in Japanese Chronological Tables from 601 to 1872. [5]
The pre-Tahiō calendar included two non-nengō gaps or intervals in the chronological series:
Nengō were not promulgated (or were allowed to lapse) during the gap years between Hakuchi and Shuchō, and in another gap between Shuchō and Taihō.
| Concurrent Chronologies | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-nengō periods | Nengō eras | Shinengō [9] | Imperial dynasty duration | Western calendar dates | |
| Taika [6] | 1305 | 645 [10] | |||
| Hakuchi [7] | 1310 | 650 [11] | |||
| Saimei's reign [1] | 1315 | 655 [12] | |||
| Tenji's reign [1] | 1322 | 662 [13] | |||
| Kōbun's reign [14] | Sujaku [15] | 1332 [1] | 672 [16] | ||
| Temmu's reign | Hakuhō [17] | 1333 [1] | 673 [18] | ||
| Suchō [8] | 1346 | 686 [19] | |||
| Jitō's reign [1] | 1347 | 687 [20] | |||
| Taika [21] | 1350 | 695 [21] | |||
| Mommu's reign [1] | 1357 | 697 [22] | |||
| Taihō [6] | 1361 | 701 [23] | |||
Empress Kōgyoku, also known as Empress Saimei, was the 35th and 37th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both her reigns were within the Asuka period.
Emperor Tenji, known first as Prince Katsuragi and later as Prince Nakano Ōe until his accession, was the 38th emperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku, and his children included Empress Jitō, Empress Genmei, and Emperor Kōbun.
Emperor Kōbun was the 39th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ascended to the throne following the Jinshin War, during which his army defeated that of Emperor Kōbun. Tenmu reigned from 673 until his death in 686, amid Hakuhō period or the late Asuka period.
Empress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Emperor Monmu was the 42nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
The Japanese era name or nengō, is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era meaning "origin, basis", followed by the literal "nen (年)" meaning "year".
Taihō (大宝) was a Japanese era name after a late 7th century interruption in the sequence of nengō after Shuchō and before Keiun. This period spanned the years from March 701 through May 704. The reigning emperor was Monmu-tennō (文武天皇).
Keiun (慶雲), also known as Kyōun, was a Japanese era name following Taihō and preceding Wadō. The period spanned the years from May 704 through January 708. The reigning emperors were Monmu-tennō (文武天皇) and Genmei-tennō (元明天皇).
Reiki (霊亀) was a Japanese era name after Wadō and before Yōrō. This period spanned the years from September 715 through November 717. The reigning empress was Genshō-tennō (元正天皇).
Shuchō (朱鳥), alternatively read as Suchō or Akamitori, was a Japanese era name after a gap following Hakuchi (650–654) and before another gap lasting until Taihō (701–704). This Shuchō period briefly spanned a period of mere months, June through September 686. The reigning sovereigns were Tenmu-tennō (天武天皇) and Jitō-tennō (持統天皇).
Taika (大化) was a Japanese era name during the reign of Kōtoku. The Taika era immediately preceded the Hakuchi era. This period spanned the years from August 645 through February 650.
Hakuchi (白雉) was a Japanese era name after the Taika era and before Shuchō. This period spanned the years from February 650 through December 654. The reigning emperor was Kōtoku-tennō (孝徳天皇).
The Tenji period is a brief span of years during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Tenji period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1322nd year of the imperial dynasty.
The Kōbun period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Kōbun period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1332nd year of the imperial dynasty.
The Temmu period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Temmu period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1333rd year of the imperial dynasty.
The Jitō period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Jitō period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1347th year of the imperial dynasty.
The Monmu period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Mommu period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1357th year of the imperial dynasty.
Tenpyō-shōhō (天平勝宝) was a Japanese era name after Tenpyō-kanpō and before Tenpyō-hōji. This period spanned the years from July 749 through August 757. The reigning empress was Kōken-tennō (孝謙天皇).
Jingo-keiun (神護景雲) was a Japanese era name after Tenpyō-jingo and before Hōki. This period spanned the years from August 767 through October 770. The reigning empress was Empress Shōtoku-tennō (称徳天皇). This was the same woman who had reigned previously as the former Kōken-tennō (孝謙天皇).