Coordinates: 35°0′49″N 135°44′32″E / 35.01361°N 135.74222°E / 35.01361; 135.74222

Great Fire of Angen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Great Fire of Angen
Lua error in Module:Infobox_mapframe at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Native name 安元の大火
Date1177
TimeBeginning of the hour of the wild boar (10:00pm) (Traditional Japanese time)
LocationHeian palace, Heian-kyō
CoordinatesNear Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
OutcomeDestruction of a third of the capital, including the Great Imperial Audience Hall, courtier mansions, and the front gate of the palace.

The Great Fire of Angen was a fire that swept through Heian-kyō (now Kyoto) in 1177, destroying around a third of the then capital city. It was recorded by Fujiwara no Kanezane.

Outbreak

[edit | edit source]

The fire broke out at the beginning of the hour of the wild boar (which is about 10:00pm).[1][2][3] At the beginning of the hour of the dog (about 8:00pm),[1][3][4] Fujiwara no Kanezane finished a ritual of mourning, recording that a "princess also ended her mourning in this evening." (The text does not specify which princess).[1]

He noted the clear weather and wrote "Around 8 p.m. I performed the ritual to end the mourning on the riverbed. The princess also ended her mourning in this evening. Chamberlain to the princess [Kanezane's son Yoshimichi] ended the mourning in front of her residence." He continued to write, finally noting the fire by saying, "Around 10 p.m., a fire broke out in the northern direction. I heard that the fire started at Higuchi-Tominokoji." At the time, Kanezane was ill and remained at home. Due to this, he had to have a servant assess the situation.[1]

As the fire worsened, the Emperor and Empress were moved to Fujiwara no Kunitsuna's home.[1]

As the fire swept through Heian-kyō, it reached the palace were it burnt the enthronement hall.[5] The great hall was never rebuilt and every Muromachi period emperor was not enthroned in Heian-kyō.[6][7][8]

Damage

[edit | edit source]

The damaged buildings were:[1][9][10][11]

The Imperial Court

[edit | edit source]

Other facilities

[edit | edit source]

Residence's of the nobility and princes

[edit | edit source]

Fujiwara no Kanezane noted all of these, while noting the constellations, believing that they were a bad omen.[1][9][10]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).