Angen facts for kids

Angen (安元) was a special way to count years in Japan, like how we use "AD" or "CE" today. It's called a nengō (年号), which means "year name."

The Angen period came after the Jōan era and before the Jishō era. It lasted for a short time, from July 1175 to August 1177. During this time, the emperor of Japan was Emperor Takakura.

Important Events During the Angen Era

• 1175 (Angen 1): A respected person named Minamoto no Masamichi passed away at 58 years old.
• 1175 (Angen 1): Fujiwara no Moronaga was given an important government job called naidaijin. This was a high-ranking position in the emperor's court.
• 1176 (Angen 2): Emperor Takakura visited his father, former-Emperor Go-Shirakawa. This visit was to celebrate his father's 50th birthday.
• August 23, 1176 (Angen 2): Former-Emperor Rokujō died when he was only 13 years old. In the same month, Emperor Takakura's mother also passed away.
• 1176 (Angen 2): There was a disagreement involving Fujiwara no Morotaka from Kaga. He had a problem with some priests from Mount Hiei. His brother, Fujiwara no Morotsune, even set fire to some temple buildings. The priests complained to the emperor. However, the father of these two brothers was a friend of former-Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Because of this friendship, the actions of the sons were not officially punished.
• May 27, 1177 (Angen 3): A big fire destroyed the building of the Daigaku-ryō. This was an important school for training government officials in Japan.

Angen Era Calendar

This table shows how the Angen era years match up with the Gregorian calendar we use today:

Era Succession

This table shows which eras came before and after Angen:

See Also

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