was a after Genroku and before Shōtoku. This period spanned the years from March 1704 through April 1711. The reigning emperors were and .

Etymology

Hōei comes from the Old Book of Tang ().

Change of era

  • 1704 : In reaction to the Great Genroku earthquake in Genroku 16, the era name was changed to Hōei (meaning "Prosperous Eternity"). The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Genroku 17, on the 13th day of the 3rd month.

Events of the Hōei era

  • October 28, 1707 (Hōei 4, 4th day of the 10th month): Great Hōei earthquake. The city of Osaka suffers tremendously because of a very violent earthquake.
  • December 16, 1707 (Hōei 4, 23rd day of the 11th month)<!--NengoCalc 宝永四年十一月二十三日 -->: An eruption of Mount Fuji; the cinders and ash fell like rain in Izu, Kai, Sagami, and Musashi.
  • April 28, 1708 (Hōei 5, 8th day of the 3rd month)<!-- NengoCalc 宝永三年三月八日 -->: There was a great fire in Heian-kyō.
  • October 12, 1708 (Hōei 5, 29th day of the 8th month): Italian missionary Giovanni Sidotti landed in Yakushima, where he was promptly arrested.
  • February 19, 1709 (Hōei 6, 10th day of the 1st month): The wife of shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi killed him with a knife, and then she stabbed herself in the heart. Tsunayoshi's plan to adopt daimyō of Kai as his successor were known by a few inside Edo Castle. The shōgun's wife, who was also a daughter of the emperor, foresaw that this choice of a successor would be very poorly received by many; and she feared that it might result in a disastrous civil war. The shōgun's wife did everything she could to dissuade Tsunayoshi from continuing with such potentially divisive and dangerous plans; and when it became clear that her arguments were in vain, she resolutely sacrificed herself for the good of the country—she killed her husband and then killed herself. She may also have done this as she hated the boy.

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File:Mt,Fuji 2007 Winter 28000Ft.JPG|Looking down towards the peak of Mount Fuji and its central crater.

File:Volcanic-ash-downfall map of Mt.Fuji Hoei-eruption01.jpg|Distribution of volcanic cinders and ash falling across central Honshū after the eruption of Mount Fuji in 1707 (Hoei 4).

File:FujiHoei2078.jpg|The Hoei Crater, visible to the right of the peak of Mount Fuji, was the location of the 1707 eruption that spewed ash as far as Edo.

</gallery>

See also

  • Hōei eruption of Mount Fuji
  • Historic eruptions of Mount Fuji

Notes

References