Man'en (万延) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, lit. "year name") after Ansei and before Bunkyū. This period spanned the years from March 1860 through February 1861.[1] The reigning emperor was Kōmei-tennō (孝明天皇).
Change of era
March 18, 1860 (Man'en 1 (万延元年)): 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).[2] 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 Yokohama[3]
1860 (Man'en 1): First foreign mission to the United States.[4]
Gallery
Edo Castle's Sakurada Gate (Sakurada-mon): The assassination of Ii Naosuke occurred nearby.