1842

Tenpô 13 (天保十三年)

Timeline of 1842

• 1842/6 Depictions in ukiyo-e of geisha, courtesans, kabuki actors, and the like are banned.
• 1842/7/24 (Aug 29) - Treaty of Nanjing is signed between China and the United Kingdom, ending the First Opium War.

Other Events of 1842

• Ichikawa Ebizô V is banished from Edo as a punishment for his extravagant lifestyle. He moves to Osaka.
• Publication, begun in 1829, of Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji by Ryûtei Tanehiko, with illustrations by Utagawa Kunisada, is cut off by the authorities.
• Ryukyuan embassy journeys to Edo.
• Edict to Repel Foreign Vessels issued in 1825 is repealed. The shogunate instructs local authorities to provide food and fuel for foreign ships and to encourage them to leave as soon as possible, a considerable softening of policy from earlier edicts which demanded the all-out repulsion of foreign vessels.
• The shogunate continues to implement added elements of the Tenpô Reforms.
  • Over 4,000 illegal prostitutes of Edo are arrested and moved to the Yoshiwara.
  • Kabuki theatres are required to move to Saruwaka-chô, which comes to be informally known as Shibai-machi ("Theater Town"). No major kabuki theatre would operate outside of that district for thirty years.
  • At least one machi bugyô criticizes the reforms as hurting the city's economy, and thus being opposed to ideals of benevolent government.

Births and Deaths of 1842

• Tenpô 12/12/24 Ryukyuan aristocrat Rin Seikô is born (d. 1880).
• Abiru Eisaburo is born.
• Painter Hyakutake Kenkô is born (d. 1887).
• Matsudaira Takeoki, lord of Hamada han, dies.
• Ryûtei Tanehiko commits suicide.

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