Wadō (和銅, Wadō?) was a Japanese era name (年号,, nengō,?, lit. "year name") after Keiun and before Reiki. This period spanned the years from 708 through 715. The reigning emperor was Gemmei-tennō (元明天皇, Gemmei-tennō?).1
Change of era
- 708 Wadō gannen (和銅元年, Wadō gannen?): The new era name Wadō (meaning "Japanese copper") was created because the metal was discovered in Musashi province. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in the spring of Keiun 5, on the 11th day of the 1st month of 708.2
The Japanese word for copper is dō (銅); and since this was indigenous copper, the "wa" (the ancient Chinese term for Japan) could be combined with the "dō" (copper) to create a new composite term -- "wadō" -- meaning "Japanese copper." The Wadō era is famous for the coin wadokaiho/wadokaichin (和同開珎, wadokaiho/wadokaichin?) which is recognized as the first Japanese currency. -- see image of Wado Kaichin from Japan Mint Museum
Events of the Wadō era
- May 5, 708 (Wadō 1, 11th day of the 4th month): A sample of the newly discovered Musashi copper from was presented in Gemmei's Court where it was formally acknowledged as Japanese copper.3
- 708 (Wadō 1, 3rd month): Fujiwara no Fuhito (藤原不比等, Fujiwara no Fuhito?) is named Udaijin (Minister of the Right). Iso-kami Marō is Sadaijin (Minister of the Left).4
- 709 (Wadō 2, 3rd month): There was an uprising against governmental authority in Mutsu province and in Echigo province. Troops were promptly dispatched to subdue the revolt.4
- 709 (Wadō 2, 5th month): Ambassadors arrived from Silla, bringing an offer of tribute. He visited Fujiwara no Fuhito to prepare the way for further visits.5
- 710 (Wadō 3, 3rd month): Empress Gemmei established her official residence in Nara. In the last years of the Mommu's reign, the extensive preparations for this projected move had begun; but the work could not be completed before the late-emperor's untimely death.4 Shortly after the nengō was changed to Wadō, an imperial rescript was issued concerning the establishment of a new capital at the Heijō-kyō at Nara in Yamato province. It had been customary since ancient times for the capital to be moved with the beginning of each new reign. However, Emperor Mommu decided not to move the capital, preferring instead to stay at the Fujiwara Palace which had been established by Empress Jitō.6
- 711 (Wadō 4, 3rd month): The Kojiki was published in three volumes. This work presented a history of Japan from a mythological period of god-rulers up through the 28th day of the 1st month of the fifth year of Empress Suiko's reign (597).4 Emperor Temmu failed to bring the work to completion before his death in 686. Empress Gemmei, along with other court officials, deserve credit for continuing to patronize and encourage the mammoth project.
- 712 (Wadō 5): The Mutsu province was separated from Dewa province.4
- 713 (Wadō 6, 3rd month): Tamba province was separated from Tango province; Mimasaka province was divided from Bizen province; and Hyūga province was divided from Osumi province.4
- 713 (Wadō 6): The compilation of Fudoki was begun with the imprimatur of an Imperial decree: This work was intended to describe all provinces, cities, mountains, rivers, valleys and plains. It was intended to become a catalog of the plants, trees, birds, and mammals of Japan. It also intended to contain information about all of the remarkable events which, from ancient times to the present, have happened in the country.4
- 713 (Wadō 6): The road which traverses Mino province and Shinano province was widened to accommodate travelers; and the road was widened in the Kiso District of modern Nagano Prefecture.4
After Empress Gemmei transferred the seat of her government to Nara, this mountain location remained the capital throughout the succeeding seven reigns.6 In a sense, the years of the Nara period developed into one of the more significant consequences of her comparatively short reign.
References
- ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 63-65; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 271; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. p. 140.
- ^ Brown, p. 271; Titsingh, p. 63.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Titsingh, p. 64.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 64; Aoki (1989: 149)Aoki, Kazuo et al. (1989). Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 12: Shoku Nihongi I, p. 149. (in Japanese).
- ^ a b Varley, p. 140.
- Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220], Gukanshō; "The Future and the Past: a translation and study of the 'Gukanshō,' an interpretive history of Japan written in 1219" translated from the Japanese and edited by Delmer M. Brown & Ichirō Ishida. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652]. Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4
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