Genbun

was a after Kyōhō and before Kanpō. This period spanned the years from April 1736 through February 1741. The reigning emperor was .

Change of era

• 1736 : To mark the enthronement of Sakuramachi, the era was changed to Genbun (meaning "Original civility"). The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Kyōhō 21, on the 21st day of the 4th month.

Events of the Genbun era

• 1736 (Genbun 1): The shogunate published an edict declaring that henceforth, the sole, authorized coinage in the empire would be those copper coins which were marked on the obverse with the character 文 (pronounced bun in Japanese or pronounced wen in Chinese—which is to say, the same character which is found in this era name of Genbun).
• August 8, 1740 (Genbun 5, 16th day of the 7th month)<!-- NengoCalc 元文五年七月十六日 -->: Great floods in Heian-kyō. Sanjo Bridge is washed away.
• January 11, 1741 (Genbun 5, 24th day of the 11th month)<!-- NengoCalc 元文五年十一月二十四日 -->: The esoteric Niiname-matsuri ceremonies were performed. This specific ceremony had otherwise been held in abeyance for the previous 280 years.