Genkō (second)

For the earlier Japanese historical era of the same name, see Genkō (first).

Genkō (元弘) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, lit. year name) of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Gentoku and before Kemmu. This period spanned the years from August 1331 through January 1334. Reigning Emperors were Emperor Go-Daigo-Tennō (後醍醐天皇) in the south and Emperor Kōgon-Tennō (光厳天皇) in the north.

Events of the Genkō era

• 1331–1333: The Genkō War (元弘の乱, Genkō no Ran) lasted the entire length of the era, which marked the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate and led to the ultimately unsuccessful Kemmu Restoration.

The oldest extant account of Buddhism in Japan, the Genko Shakusho (元亨釈書), was completed in the Genko era, whence the era name in its title. The massive project was the work of Kokan Shiren.

Northern Court equivalents

• Shōkei

See also

• Mongol invasions of Japan

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231049405; OCLC 6042764

External links

• National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection

Preceded by Gentoku

Era or nengō Genkō 1331–1334

Succeeded by Kemmu