was a after Bunji and before Shōji. This period spanned the years from April 1190 through April 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kenkyū" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 509; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File . The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 207–221; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 334–339; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 215–220.
Change of era 1190 : The new era name was created to mark an event or a number of events. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in Bunji 6, on the 14th day of the 8th month of 1185.Brown, p. 337.
Events of the Kenkyū era 1192 (Kenkyū 3, 13th day of the 3rd month): The former-Emperor Go-Shirakawa died at the age of 66. He had been father or grandfather to five emperors -- Emperor Nijō, the 78th emperor; Emperor Rokujō, the 79th emperor; Emperor Takakura, the 80th emperor; Emperor Antoku, the 81st emperor; and Go-Toba, the 82nd emperor.Varley, p. 208; Kitagawa et al. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p. 788. 1192 (Kenkyū 3, 12th day of the 7th month): Minamoto no Yoritomo is named commander-in-chief of the forces to fight the barbarians.Kitagawa p. 788. 1195 (Kenkyū 6, 4th day of the 3rd month): Shōgun Yoritomo revisits the capital. 1198 (Kenkyū 9, 11th day of the 1st month): In the 15th year of Go-Toba-tennōs reign (後鳥天皇15年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his eldest son.Brown, p.339; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami. 1198 (Kenkyū 9, 3rd month): Emperor Tsuchimikado is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).Titsingh, p.221; Varley, p. 44. 1199 (Kenkyū 10, 13th day of the 1st month): Shōgun Yoritomo dies at age 53 in Kamakura.
See also Mumyōzōshi, a text on literary criticism also known as Kenkyū Monogatari
Notes
References Brown, Delmer and Ichiro Ishida. (1979). The Future and the Past: a translation and study of the 'Gukanshō', an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219. Berkeley: University of California Press. ; OCLC 5145872 Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Bruce T. Tsuchida, eds. (1975). The Tale of the Heike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. ; ; ; ; OCLC 193064639 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 58053128 Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691 Varley, H. Paul. (1980). A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa. New York: Columbia University Press. ; OCLC 6042764
External links National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection