Musashi Province: Difference between revisions
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Whether or not silver was actually discovered in 708, this cannot be construed as a minor edit. |
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==Historical record== |
==Historical record== |
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* '''''[[Keiun]] 4''''', on the 15th day of the 6th month ([[707]]): Genmei is enthroned at the age of 48.<ref>Brown, Delmer. (1979). ''Gukanshō,'' p. 271.</ref> |
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* '''''Wadō gannen''''' (和銅元年) or '''''Wadō 1''''' ([[708]]): The new era name ''Wadō'' (meaning "Japanese silver") was created because some kind of precious metal was discovered in Musashi province. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in the spring of ''Keiun'' 5.<ref>This explanation comes from the 1834 French translation of an 1652 chronicle written originally in Japanese and Chinese, ''Nipon o daï itsi ran'' at p. 63: |
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* '''''Keiun 4''''' ([[707]]): Copper was reported to have been found in [[Musashi province]] in the region which includes modern day Tokyo.<ref>Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Nipon o daï itsi ran,'' p. 63.</ref> The Japanese word for copper is ''dō'' (銅); and since this was indigenous copper, it could have been combined with "wa", which was the ancient Chinese term for Japan. |
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: The Dutch translater wrote: "Au printemps de l'année (708), on offrit à cette princesse du cuivre de la province de ''Mousasi''; c'était le premier qu'on avait trouveé dans l'empire. Pour cette raison, Ghen mio [Gemmei-tennō] donna aux années de son règne le titre honorifique de ''Wadō'' ("Ho thoung"), qui veut dire ''cuivre japonais''." ["In the spring of 708, the empress was offered a sample of silver from the province of Musashi. This was the first time that silver had been found in the country. For that reason, Empress Gemmei gave the honorific name of ''Wadō'' to the early years of her reign. Wadō is how one says ''Japanese silver'' in Japanese."] |
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* '''''Keiun 5''''' ([[708]]):, The era name was about to be changed to mark the accession of Empress Gemmei; but the choice of ''Wadō'' as the new ''[[nengō]]'' for this new reign became a way to mark the welcome discovery of copper in the [[Chichibu District, Saitama |Chichibu District]] of what is now [[Saitama Prefecture]].<ref>Titsingh, p. 63.</ref> |
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: The German editor Klaproth noted at p. 63: "On lit dans le ''Sio Nipon ki'': 'Le 11e jour de la 4e lune de la 1re années ''Wadō'', le Daïiri ''Ghen mio ten o'' reçut du cuivre du district de ''Tsitsi bou-no kori'' ("Thsieou fou kiun"), dans la province de Mousasi, d'où le nengō prit le nom de Wadō, qui veut dire ''cuivre japonais''.'" ["One can read in the ''Sio Nipon ki'': 'On the 11th day of the 4th month of ''Wadō gannen'' or ''Wadō 1'', Empress Gemmei received some silver from the district of ''"Tsitsi bou-no kori"'' ("Thsieou fou kiun") in the province of Musashi, from whence the ''nengō'' took the name of ''Wadō'', which how one says ''"Japanese silver"'' in Japanese."] |
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Another account suggests tht it was copper that was discovered in Musashi (the region that includes modern day Tokyo), not silver. The Japanese word for copper is dō (銅), and since it was indigenous copper, it could have been combined with "wa", which was the ancient term for Japan. Alternately, the "wa" could have been a plausible reference to the copper which was discovered as being relatively pure (without needing much refining.</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 05:33, 9 June 2007
Musashi (武蔵国; -no kuni) was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture, mainly Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces.
Musashi was the largest province in the Kantō region. It had its ancient capital in modern Fuchu, Tokyo and its provincial temple in what is now Kokubunji, Tokyo. By the Sengoku period, the main city was Yedo, which became the dominant city of eastern Japan. Edo Castle was the headquarters of Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara and became the dominant city of Japan during the Edo period, being renamed Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration.
It gave its name to the battleship of the Second World War Musashi.
See also Miyamoto Musashi.
Historical record
- Keiun 4, on the 15th day of the 6th month (707): Genmei is enthroned at the age of 48.[1]
- Keiun 4 (707): Copper was reported to have been found in Musashi province in the region which includes modern day Tokyo.[2] The Japanese word for copper is dō (銅); and since this was indigenous copper, it could have been combined with "wa", which was the ancient Chinese term for Japan.
- Keiun 5 (708):, The era name was about to be changed to mark the accession of Empress Gemmei; but the choice of Wadō as the new nengō for this new reign became a way to mark the welcome discovery of copper in the Chichibu District of what is now Saitama Prefecture.[3]
- Wadō gannen or Wadō 1, on the 11th day of the 4th month (708): A sample of the newly discovered Musashi copper from was presented in Gemmei's Court where it was formally acknowledged as Japanese copper.[4]
References
Notes
Further reading
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo, 1652]. Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth. Paris.--Two digitized examples of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitized January 30, 2007; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitized June 23, 2006. Click here to read the original text in French.
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This article incorporates text from OpenHistory.