kids encyclopedia robot

Genroku facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Genroku (元禄 ) was a Japanese era name (年号, , nengō,, lit. "year name") after Jōkyō and before Hōei. This period started in September 1688 and ended in March 1704. During this time, the emperor was Higashiyama-tennō (東山天皇 ).

1696 Genroku 9 (early Edo) Japanese Map of Kyoto, Japan - Geographicus - Kyoto-genroku9-1696
Map of Kyoto published in the Genroku era.

The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo period. A century of peace and seclusion created good economic conditions and cultural growth.

The nengō Genroku means "Origin of Good Fortune"

Events of the Genroku era

Kuranosuke Harakiri no zu
In the 16th day of Genroku, Ōishi Yoshio killed himself in a public ceremony.
  • 1688 (Genroku 1): Tokugawa shogunate published a code of conduct for funerals (Fuku-kiju-ryō) and for mourning.
  • 16 September 1689 (Genroku 2, 3rd day of the 7th month): Engelbert Kaempfer arrived at Dejima.
  • 1693 (Genroku 6, 12th month): Arai Hakuseki became the tutor of Tokugawa Ienobu.
  • 1693 (Genroku 6): The code of conduct for funerals and mourning was changed.
  • 1695 (Genroku 8, 8th month): The shogunate placed the Japanese character gen (元) on copper coins.
  • 4 December 1696: Former-Empress Meishō died at age 74.
  • 1697 (Genroku 10): The 4th official map of Japan was made.
  • 1697 (Genroku 10): Great fire in Edo.
  • 1698 (Genroku 11): Another great fire in Edo.
  • 1703 (Genroku 16, 3rd month): Ōishi Yoshio commits seppuku.
  • 31 December 1703 (Genroku 16, 23rd day of the 11th month): The Great Genroku Earthquake shook Edo. Fire spread in the city. The coast of Honshū was hit by tsunami.

Related pages

  • National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
Genroku 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th
1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704
Preceded by:
Jōkyō		 Era or nengō:
Genroku		 Succeeded by:
Hōei


Images for kids

  • Tottori feudal lord Ikedas cemetery 065

    A turtle-based stele of Ikeda Mitsunaka, a Tottori Domain ruler, dated Genroku 6

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Genroku Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.