Year in Japan

1656 in Japanese History

1 recorded entry for this year. It falls in the Edo period (江戸時代, 1603 – 1868).

Era name: Meireki 明暦 (year 2 of the era)

What happened 出来事

Hachisuka Tsunamichi 蜂須賀綱通 · Samurai — Daimyo who ruled the Tokushima Domain (1656-1678)

Reading the year 1656 in Japanese

Japanese sources from this period date events by era name, not by the Western calendar. 1656 corresponds to Meireki 明暦 (year 2 of the era). Years are written with 年 (ねん, nen) — so 1600 appears as 慶長5年, "the fifth year of Keichō".

The year itself is read 1656年 (1656ねん) in modern Japanese. Browse the full timeline to see where this year sits in the wider arc, or the 17th century for its neighbours.