Hyakkimaru's Birth Timeline

Hyakkimaru's Birth

Book 1 of the Dororo Novel Series

Toriumi Jinzō

Timeline

 

Companion to the Glossary. This novel is really steeped in history, and I'm only passingly familiar with Japanese history. Hopefully, these resources help.

Dynasties represent Chinese dynastic periods.

Periods are chunks of Japanese history that are usually dominated by a single large event or family.

Eras are breakdowns within certain periods of Japanese history; their names usually correspond to the ruler who was governing Japan at the time.

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Han Dynasty: 202 BC to 220 AD  Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people," the Sinitic language is known as "Han language,” and written Chinese is referred to as "Han characters."

Tang Dynasty: 618  to 907 Historians generally regard the Tang Dynasty as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture.

Shuchō Era: 673 to 686 This era was reigned over by Emperor Tenmu, the 40th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession.

Nara Period: 710 to 794 Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kanmu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784, before moving to Heian-kyō, modern Kyōto, a decade later in 794.

Tenpyō Era: 729 to 749 This period started in August 729 and ended in April 749. Japanese Empress Kōmyō established a dispensary and poorhouse near Kyōto to help the poor in the year 730.

Hōki Era: 770 to 781 This period spanned the years from October 770 through January 781. It is part of the Nara period. 

Enryaku Era: 782 to 806 This era spanned the years from August 782 through May 806. It is part of the Nara period. Emperor Kanmu was the reigning ruler of Japan.

Enryaku Era: 793 Emperor Kanmu established five temples on mountaintops near Kyōto in every cardinal direction under the supervision of the imperial family.   The northern mountain, Konpira, represents the darkness of yin, while the southern mountain, Hyoutankuzure, represents the light of yang.  Konpira has a large shrine, but Hyōtankuzure’s temple is marked by large stones at the foot of the mountain (Iwakura Shrine). All four temples create a perimeter to help protect the capital, Kyōto, from attack.

Heian Period: 794 to 1185 A long and unique period of relative peace in Japanese history. Culture and art flourished.

Kōnin Era: 810 to 824 This period started in September 810 and ended in January 824. The importance of Buddhism and the arts was notable during this time.

Song Dynasty: 960 to 1279 The Song dynasty  was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Northern Song (960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now Eastern China. The Southern Song (1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of its northern half. 

Kamakura Period: 1185 to 1333 The Kamakura period is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shōgun, Minamoto no Yoritomo. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan.

Yuan Dynasty: 1271 to 1368 This dynasty spanned the years from 1271 to 1368. In Chinese historiography, this dynasty followed the Song dynasty and preceded the Ming dynasty. Although Genghis Khan had been enthroned with the Chinese title of Emperor in 1206, and the Mongol Empire had ruled territories including modern-day northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style. The conquest was not complete until 1279, when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yamen. 

Muromachi Period: 1336 to 1573 The Muromachi Period, also known as the Ashikaga Period, marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by Ashikaga Takauji. The period ended in 1573 when the last shōgun of this line, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyōto by Oda Nobunaga.

Tenju Era (Southern Court)/Eiwa Era (Northern Court): 1377 Jukai’s father, Tanbano Hisamaro, is born during the long struggle for power between northern and southern Japan, which ended in 1392.

1379 Yoshimitsu Ashikaga becomes the highest-ranked government official in Japan.

Ōei Era: 1394 to 1428 This era extends from July 5, 1394 to April 27, 1428. It is part of the Muromachi period.

Ōei Era: 1397 Tanbano Jukai (birth name Tanbano Tajumaru) is born.

Ming Dynasty/Ōei Era: 1399–1402 The Jingnan Campaign. The Chinese Emperor’s fifth son, Zhu Di, deposes the Emperor’s grandson, Zhu Yunwen, in a three-year civil war.

Ming Dynasty/Ōei Era: 1403 Zhu Di sends messengers to  Japan, the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, and other places to inform them of his victory in the civil war.

Ōei Era: 1404 Yoshimitsu Ashikaga appeals to China’s new Emperor to be recognized as the ruler of Japan. This appeal is successful. Zheng He meets with Tanbano Hisamaro and his son, Jukai (birth name Tajumaru).

Ōei Era: 1406 Sakuzō is born.

Ōei Era: Autumn 1409 Hisamaro is summoned by the imperial court, where he defies all court convention. He is placed under house arrest and forced to flee Kyōto with his son.

Ōei Era: Summer 1410 Hisamaro is killed by unidentified assassins. Tajumaru (Jukai) begins his apprenticeship under the doctor Gōshō.

1431 Tajumaru (Jukai) ends his apprenticeship with Gōshō and sails around the world with Zheng He.

1433 Tajumaru (Jukai) returns to China after voyaging with Zheng He. He seeks out Yōda on Mount Wutai.

Autumn 1436 Tajumaru (Jukai) begins training with Yōda.

Bun’an Era: 1447 Yōda dies. Jukai returns to Japan with Namitarō.

Bun’an Era: July 19, 1447 The village of Yamada Nishigaoka rises up under the leadership of some wandering samurai and occupies the temple to the east of Kyōto. Sakuzō leads the common people and the other samurai in the revolt and is critically wounded.

Bun’an Era: October 1447 Sakuzō’s battle wounds are treated by Jukai. Jukai cuts his rotted leg off.

Bun’an Era: Spring 1448 Jukai fits Sakuzō with a wooden leg prosthesis. Sakuzō begins living with Jukai at his estate in the mountains.

Kyōtoku Era: Spring 1449 Hyakkimaru (Oniwakamaru) is born. Jukai brings him home to his estate on the mountain of Kurama, where he is raised by Jukai and Sakuzō.

Kōshō Era: Spring 1453 Hyakkimaru falls out of his sling when hung up on the wall. He shows signs of wanting to move independently. He is also able to hear the wild monkeys that live on the mountain.

Spring 1456 Hyakkimaru antagonizes militant monks at Kurama’s temple.

Autumn 1456 Hyakkimaru is given prostheses for his eyes, nose, and ears.