Kan'ei 21 (寛永二十一年) / Shôhô 1 (正保元年)
Timeline of 1644
- 1644/9 Chinese merchants in Nagasaki inform Japanese authorities of the fall of the Ming Dynasty.
- 1644/12 Two Rykuyan embassies journey to Edo, and to Nikkô Tôshôgû.
Other Events of 1644
- Beijing falls to Manchu invasion; Ming Dynasty succeeded by Qing Dynasty. The Shunzhi Emperor becomes the first Manchu emperor to rule over the majority of China.
- Ayutthaya dispatches an envoy to request the resumption of trade and relations with Japan. The ship succumbs to typhoon or inclement weather and never makes it to Japan.
- The shogunate lifts the ban on onnagata on the kabuki stage, under the provisions that there be a distinction between the onnagata and those who play male roles, that the genders of the actors be known, and that nothing be done onstage to confuse the audience as to the gender of the actors.
- The shogunate forbids kabuki and ningyô jôruri plays from using the names of contemporary figures of importance.
- Reconstruction is completed on the five-story pagoda at Tô-ji destroyed by fire in 1641.
- Tômibansho (guard posts) are established in various locations throughout the Ryûkyû Kingdom.
- The Yoshiwara burns down.
Births and Deaths
- Hayashi Nobuatsu is born (d. 1732).
- Matsuo Bashô, haikai and haiku poet, is born (d. 1694).
- Sakai merchant Tani Shôan dies (b. 1589).