page_title: Emperor Shōmu
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Emperor Shōmu / Traditional narrative / Timeline
caption_attribution_description: English: Tōdai-ji Kon-dō, at Nara Japan. 日本語: 東大寺金堂、奈良県奈良市。
context_page_description: Emperor Shōmu was the 45th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
  Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749.
context_section_description: 724 (Jinki 1): Emperor Shōmu rises to throne.
  740 (Tenpyō 12, 8th month): In the Imperial court in Nara, Kibi no Makibi and Genbō conspire to discredit Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, who is Dazai shoni in Kyushu.
  740 (Tenpyō 12, 9th month): Hirotsugu rebels in reaction to the growing influence of Genbō and others.
  740 (Tenpyō 12, 9th month): Under the command of Ōno no Azumabito, an Imperial army of 17,000 is sent to Kyushu to stop the potential disturbance.
  740 (Tenpyō 12, 10th month): Hirotsugu is decisively beaten in battle; and he is beheaded in Hizen Province.
  740 (Tenpyō 12): The capital is moved to Kuni-kyō
  741 (Tenpyō 13): The Emperor calls for nationwide establishment of provincial temples.  Provincial temples ("kokubunji") and provincial nunneries ("kokubunniji") were established throughout the country. The more formal name for these "kokubunji" was "konkomyo-shitenno-gokoku no tera" (meaning "temples for the protection of the country by the four guardian deities of the golden light").  The more formal name for these "bokubunniji" was "hokke-metuzai no tera" (meaning "nunneries for eliminating sin by means of the Lotus Sutra").
  743 (Tenpyō 15): The Emperor issues a rescript to build the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), later to be completed and placed in Tōdai-ji, Nara.
  743 (Tenpyō 15): The law of Perpetual Ownership of Cultivated Lands (墾田永代私財法) issued
  744 (Tenpyō 16): In the spring, the court was moved to Naniwa-kyō which then became the new capital.
  745 (Tenpyō 17): The Emperor declares by himself Shigaraki-kyō the capital
  745 (Tenpyō 17): The capital returns to Heijō-kyō, construction of the Great Buddha resumes.
  749 (Tenpyō 21, 4th month): Shōmu, accompanied by the empress, their children, and all the great men and women of the court, went in procession to Todai-ji.  The emperor stood before the statue of the Buddha and proclaimed himself to be a slave to the three precious precepts of the Buddhist religion, which are the Buddha, the Buddhist law, and the Buddhist church.
  749 (Tenpyō 21, 7th month): After a 25-year reign, Emperor Shōmu abdicates in favor of his daughter, Princess Takano, who would become Empress Kōken.  After abdication, Shōmu took the tonsure, thus becoming the first retired emperor to become a Buddhist priest.  Empress Komyo, following her husband's example, also took holy vows in becoming a Buddhist nun.
  752 (Tenpyō-shōhō 4, 4th month): The Eye-Opening Ceremony, presided over by Rōben and celebrating the completion of the Great Buddha, is held at  Tōdai-ji.
caption: Tōdai-ji
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