Bun'ō

Bun'ō (文応) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō; lit. "year name") after Shōka and before Kōchō. This period spanned the years from April 1260 to February 1261.^[1] The reigning emperor was Kameyama-tennō (亀山天皇).^[2]

Change of era

• 1260 Bun'ō gannen (文応元年): The new era name was created to mark an event or a number of events. The years of the Shōgen era were part of a period marked by famine and epidemics; and the era name was changed in quick succession in the hope that this might bring them to a close.^[3] The previous era ended and a new one commenced in Shōka 3.

Events of the Bun'ō era

• 1260 (Bun'ō 1): Crop failures brought widespread starvation.^[4]
• 1260 (Bun'ō 1): Nichiren preached in the streets of Kamakura.^[5]
• July 16, 1260 (Bun'ō 1, 7th day of the 6th month): Nichiren submitted a formal remonstrance to Hojo Tokiyori; this was the "Treatise on Securing Peace in the Land through the Establishment of True Buddhism" (Rissho Ankoku Ron)^[6]
• 1260 (Bun'ō 1): Buddhism was introduced from Japan to the Ryūkyū Kingdom.^[7]
• 1260 (Bun'ō 1): The rise of pirates and increased raids from safe havens in Tsushima began to develop into a major problem.^[4]