Kōnin-Jōgan jidai 弘仁貞観時代

Keywords
Art History
General Terms

Also Kōnin jidai 弘仁時代 or, more frequently in art history, Jōgan jidai 貞観時代. The Kōnin-Jōgan period. The term used for the Early Heian period *Heian jidai 平安時代. The name is derived from the Kōnin era (810-24) and Jōgan era (859-77) which saw significant cultural changes take place, particularly the rise of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教 and its accompanying arts, especially wooden sculpture. The period saw a rejection of the decaying Nara period Buddhist tradition. The aristocratic culture which characterized the following *Fujiwara jidai 藤原時代 had not yet developed. Nearly all sources give 794, the year the capital was moved to Heiankyō 平安京 (present-day Kyoto) as the starting date, and the end of the period is often given as the year in which embassies to Tang China were discontinued (894), though years such as 866, 897, and 1000 A.D. are also given.