Kyōhō facts for kids

Kyōhō (享保) was a Japanese era name (年号,, nengō), which means it was a special period of time in Japanese history. This era started in July 1716 and ended in April 1736. During the Kyōhō period, the emperors of Japan were Nakamikado-tennō (中御門天皇) and Sakuramachi-tennō (桜町天皇).

Important Events of the Kyōhō Era

• 1717 (Kyōhō 2): The Kyōhō reforms began. These were big changes led by Shogun Yoshimune to improve Japan.

• 1718 (Kyōhō 3): The government, known as the bakufu, repaired the tombs of past emperors.

• 1718 (Kyōhō 3, 8th month): The government set up a special petition-box (目安箱, meyasubako) in Heian-kyō (Kyoto). People could use this box to share their ideas or complaints with the Shogun.

• 1721 (Kyōhō 6): Edo (which is now Tokyo) became the largest city in the world! About 1.1 million people lived there.

• 1730 (Kyōhō 15): The Tokugawa shogunate started watching the Dojima Rice Market in Osaka very closely. Rice was a super important part of the economy.

• 3 August 1730 (Kyōhō 15, 20th day of the 6th month): A huge fire broke out in Heian-kyō (Kyoto). It destroyed 3,790 houses.

• 1732 (Kyōhō 17): Swarms of Locusts ate crops in areas around Japan's inland sea. This caused food shortages for many people.

• 24 September 1732 (Kyōhō 17, 24th day of the 9th month): Former-Emperor Emperor Reigen passed away.

• 1733 (Kyōhō 18): Ginseng, a plant used in medicine, began to be grown and sold in Japanese food markets.

• 13 April 1735 (Kyōhō 20, 21st day of the 3rd month): Emperor Nakamikado stepped down from his role (this is called abdication). His son, Emperor Sakuramachi, then became the new emperor.

• 1735 (Kyōhō 20): Sweet potatoes were introduced into the Japanese diet. They became an important food source.

During this era, special gold coins called ōban and koban were also made.

Images for kids

• 

  This monument honors Konyo Aoki, who helped bring sweet potatoes to Japan during the Kyōhō era.

Related pages

• Edo period

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

See also

In Spanish: Kyōhō para niños