Tengyō facts for kids

The Tengyō (error: {{nihongo}}: Japanese or romaji text required (help)) period was a special way to count years in Japanese history. It was an era name (called nengō in Japanese) that came after the Jōhei era and before the Tenryaku era. This time period lasted from May 938 to April 947. During the Tengyō era, two emperors ruled Japan: Emperor Suzaku (error: {{nihongo}}: Japanese or romaji text required (help)) and Emperor Murakami (error: {{nihongo}}: Japanese or romaji text required (help)).

Key Events of the Tengyō Era

This era saw many interesting things happen in Japan. Let's look at some of the most important events:

Early Years of Tengyō (938-939)

• April 6, 938 (Tengyō 1, 4th day of the 3rd month): Imagine a fun event at the palace! Ten pairs of roosters had cockfights in front of the emperor.
• 938 (Tengyō 1, 4th month): The city of Heian-kyo (which is now Kyoto) experienced many small earthquakes. They happened almost every day from the 10th to the 29th of this month.
• 939 (Tengyō 1, 1st month): A very important person named Fujiwara no Tadahira celebrated his 60th birthday. This was a big event back then!
• 939 (Tengyō 2, 5th month): Sadly, Fujiwara no Tsunesuke passed away.
• 939 (Tengyō 2, 12th month): A powerful warrior named Taira no Masakado started a large uprising. This event is famous in Japanese history and is known as the Tengyō no Ran (天慶の乱) (Tengyō Rebellion).

Later Events (941-947)

• 941 (Tengyō 4, 7th month): Another important figure, Fujiwara no Sumitomo, died.
• 941 (Tengyō 4, 11th month): Fujiwara no Tadahira, who we mentioned earlier, was given a very high position called kampaku. This role was like a chief advisor to the emperor.
• 944 (Tengyō 7, 11th month): Fujiwara no Saneyori, who was Tadahira's oldest son, became the Minister of the Right (called udaijin). This was another very important government job.
• 945 (Tengyō 8, 11th month): Fujiwara no Nakahira died at the age of 71. He had been the Minister of the Left (called sadaijin), which was also a top government position.
• May 16, 946 (Tengyō 9, 13th day of the 4th month): After ruling for 16 years, Emperor Suzaku decided to step down from his role. This is called abdicating. His younger brother, Nariakira-shinnō, then took over as the new emperor.
• May 31, 946 (Tengyō 9, 28th day of the 4th month): Emperor Murakami's new role as the ruler was officially confirmed with special ceremonies. This event was called the sokui.

Related Pages

• Heian period

• You can learn more about the Japanese calendar at the National Diet Library website: "The Japanese Calendar"