was a after Ansei and before Bunkyū. This period spanned the years from March 1860 through February 1861.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Man'en" ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File . The reigning emperor was .
Change of era March 18, 1860 (): The new era name was created to mark the destruction caused by a fire at Edo Castle and the assassination of Ii Naosuke (also known as "the disturbance" or "the incident" at the Sakurada-mon).Satow, Ernest Mason et al. (1905). Japan 1853-1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari, p. 38. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in Ansei 7.
The new era name is derived from an hortatory aphorism to be found in The Book of the Later Han: "With 100,000,000,000 descendants, your name will forever be recorded" (豊千億之子孫、歴万載而永延).
Events of the Man'en era 1860 (Man'en 1): First Western professional photographer to establish residence in Japan, Orrin Freeman began living in YokohamaHannavy, John. (2007). 1860 (Man'en 1): First foreign mission to the United States.Press release: "First Japanese Diplomatic Mission to U.S. Is Subject of May 24 Lecture," Library of Congress, April 16, 2010.
Gallery
See also Sesquicentennial of Japanese Embassy to the United States
Notes
References Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301 Satow, Ernest Mason and Baba Bunyei. (1905). Japan 1853-1864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari. Tokyo: .
External links National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" Link to historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection