Meiwa (明和) was aJapanese era name (年号,nengō; "year name") afterHōreki and beforeAn'ei. This period spanned the years from June 1764 through November 1772.^[1] The reigning empress and emperor wereGo-Sakuramachi-tennō (後桜町天皇) andGo-Momozono-tennō (後桃園天皇).^[2]

• 1764Meiwa gannen (明和元年): The era name becameMeiwa (meaning "Bright Harmony") because of the enthronement of EmpressGo-Sakuramachi.

As a cultural phenomenon, the literature of this period records concerted attempts to distill the aggregate characteristics of the inhabitants ofEdo (Edokko) into a generalized thumbnail description. These traits (Edokko katagi) were put into use to draw a contrast between Edokko and those who did not have this "sophisticated" gloss—those not from the city, as in merchants from theKyoto-Osaka region orsamurai from distant provinces. SometimesEdokko katagi was presented with pride; and it was used mockingly.^[3]

• 1765 (Meiwa 2): Five-momme coin issued.
• 1766 (Meiwa 3): A planned insurrection to displace the Shōgun was thwarted.^[4]
• 1768 (Meiwa 5): Five-momme usage halted.
• 1770 (Meiwa 7): A typhoon flattened the newly built Imperial Palace in Kyoto.^[5]
• 1770 (Meiwa 7): A great comet (Lexell's Comet) with a very long tail lit up the night skies throughout the summer and autumn.^[5]
• 1770 (Meiwa 7): Although no one could have known it at the time, this was the first of 15 consecutive years of drought in Japan.^[5]
• April 1, 1772 (Meiwa 9, 29th day of the 2nd month): "The GreatMeiwa Fire"—one of the three greatest Edo fire disasters. Unofficial reports describe a swath of ashes and cinders nearly five miles wide and 15 miles (24 km) long—destroying 178 temples and shrines, 127 daimyō residences, 878 non-official residences, 8705 houses ofbannermen, and 628 blocks of merchant dwellings, with estimates of over 6,000 casualties. All this devastation subsequently engendered the staggering costs of reconstruction.^[5]
• August 2, 1772 (Meiwa 9, 4th day of the 6th month): A terrible tempest hit the Kantō bringing floods and ruining crops.^[5]
• August 17, 1772 (Meiwa 9, 19th day of the 6th month): Another storm with more flooding and winds no less intense blew down an estimated 4000 houses in Edo alone.^[6]
• 1772 (Meiwa 9): At the time, it was said that "Meiwa 9 is Year of Trouble" because it was marked by an extraordinary succession of natural calamities. The pun was made linking the words"Meiwa" +"ku" (meaning "Meiwa 9") and the sound-alike word"meiwaku" (meaning "misfortune" or "annoyance").^[5]
• 1772 (Meiwa 9, 11th month): Thenengō was changed toAnei (meaning "eternal tranquillity"), but this symbolic act was proved futile.^[7]

• Hall, John Whitney. (1955).Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788: Forerunner of Modern Japan. Cambridge:Harvard University Press.OCLC 445621
• Nara, Hiroshi. (2004).The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō." Honolulu:University of Hawaii Press.ISBN 9780824827359;ISBN 9780824828059;OCLC 644791079
• Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005).Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge:Harvard University Press.ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5;OCLC 48943301
• Screech, Timon. (2006).Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822. London:RoutledgeCurzon.ISBN 978-0-203-09985-8;OCLC 65177072
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou,Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.OCLC 5850691.

• Lexell's Comet:-- Comet ("D/1770 L1") is named after Lexell.
• National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar"-- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection
• Toyohara Chikanobu,Mirror of the Ages (Jidai Kagami):Meiwa no koro.

• Japanese eras
• 1760s in Japan
• 1770s in Japan
• 1764 establishments in Japan
• 1760s neologisms

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Japanese-language text