Kanshō

Overview

Kanshō (寛正) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō; literally "year name") that followed Chōroku and preceded Bunshō. The era began on 1 February 1461, corresponding to the 21st day of the 12th month of Chōroku 4, and ended on 14 March 1466, the 28th day of the 2nd month of Kanshō 7. The period fell within the Muromachi period (1336–1573), a time of shogunal rule from Kyoto under the Ashikaga house.

Two emperors reigned during Kanshō. Go-Hanazono-tennō (後花園天皇) occupied the throne when the era opened, and Go-Tsuchimikado-tennō (後土御門天皇) succeeded him partway through the era. The era name itself is remembered chiefly for the devastating famine that bore its name, the Kanshō famine, which marked the period as one of crisis and suffering.

What Defined the Era

The Kanshō famine defined the era more than any political or cultural achievement. The famine struck in the early years of the era, and its effects rippled through the capital and the countryside. Food shortages led to widespread starvation, and the streets of Kyoto filled with the dead and the dying. Contemporary accounts describe a city overwhelmed by corpses, with the living too weak to bury them properly.

The famine exposed the fragility of the Muromachi order. The Ashikaga shogunate, already strained by factional conflict and dwindling revenues, struggled to respond. Local lords and religious institutions organised relief efforts, but these proved uneven and insufficient. The crisis deepened social unrest and contributed to the erosion of central authority that would culminate in the Ōnin War, which broke out shortly after the Kanshō era ended.

The era also saw a transition in the imperial line. Go-Hanazono abdicated, and Go-Tsuchimikado took the throne. This succession, while routine in form, occurred against a backdrop of imperial poverty. The court depended on the shogunate for financial support, and the famine had drained whatever resources were available. The new emperor inherited a throne that was symbolically revered but materially destitute.

Key Events

The Kanshō era opened with the formal proclamation of the new era name on 1 February 1461. The change from Chōroku to Kanshō was intended to mark a fresh start, but within months the famine had overwhelmed any sense of renewal. By the middle of 1461, the crisis was in full force.

The famine peaked in the first two years of the era. Grain reserves ran out, and prices for rice soared beyond the reach of ordinary people. The shogunate issued edicts attempting to regulate prices and distribution, but enforcement was weak. Temples and shrines opened their storehouses, and some wealthy merchants distributed rice to the poor, yet the scale of need far exceeded these charitable efforts.

The imperial succession occurred during the famine years. Go-Hanazono stepped down, and Go-Tsuchimikado was enthroned. The ceremony was conducted with reduced pomp, a concession to the hard times. The new emperor's reign would continue well beyond the Kanshō era, lasting until 1500, but his early years were shadowed by the famine's aftermath.

The era ended on 14 March 1466, when the court proclaimed the new era name Bunshō. The change was prompted by the traditional practice of renewing the era name in response to calamities or auspicious signs. By then, the worst of the famine had passed, though recovery remained slow. The shift to Bunshō offered a symbolic break from the associations of suffering that clung to the name Kanshō.

The Name in Japanese

The era name is written 寛正 in kanji. Its kana reading is かんしょう, and its romaji form is Kanshō.

The name consists of two characters:

• 寛, read kan in this word, meaning "broad," "lenient," or "magnanimous." The character carries a sense of generosity and spaciousness, both in physical dimension and in temperament. It appears in words like 寛大 (kandai, "generous") and 寛容 (kan'yō, "tolerant").

• 正, read shō in this word, meaning "correct," "right," or "proper." The character denotes uprightness and accuracy, as in 正しい (tadashii, "correct") or 正義 (seigi, "justice"). It also carries connotations of legitimacy and order.

Together, 寛正 suggests something like "broad correctness" or "magnanimous righteousness." The name was chosen to project an ideal of benevolent governance, a ruler who governs with both leniency and rectitude. That ideal stood in stark contrast to the famine that actually defined the era, a bitter irony that later chroniclers did not fail to note.

How the Era Name Works

A Japanese era name, or nengō (年号), is a system of dating that counts years from the proclamation of a new era. The system originated in China and was adopted in Japan in the seventh century. Each era name is composed of two kanji, chosen for their auspicious meanings, and the era lasts until the court decides to change it.

Era names were not fixed to a ruler's reign in the medieval period. The court could change the nengō at any time, and it often did so to mark a new emperor's accession, to celebrate an auspicious event, or to ward off misfortune. A change of era was believed to reset the spiritual atmosphere of the realm, offering a chance to escape calamities such as epidemics, earthquakes, or famines.

The proclamation of a new era name was a formal act of the imperial court, even when the shogunate held real power. Scholars of Chinese classics proposed candidate names, drawing on phrases from Chinese texts, and the emperor selected one. The new era began on a specific day, and all dates before that day were retroactively assigned to the previous era.

The Kanshō era illustrates this system in practice. It began as a routine renewal, but its name became inseparable from the famine that followed. The era name system thus does more than mark time; it captures the hopes and fears of the moment, and later generations remember entire periods by the two characters chosen at their start.