The era began in 650, the sixth year of the
Taika era, which was thus known as . The
daimyō of
Nagato Province brought a white
pheasant to the court as a gift for the emperor. This white pheasant was then construed as a good
omen. Emperor Kōtoku was extraordinarily pleased by this special avian rarity, and he wanted the entire court to see this white bird for themselves. He commanded a special audience in which he could formally invite the
sadaijin and the
udaijin to join him in admiring the rare bird; and on this occasion, the emperor caused the
nengō to be changed to
Hakuchi (meaning "white pheasant"). In Japan, this was the second
nengō, although some scholarly doubt has been cast on the authenticity of
Taika and
Hakuchi as historically legitimate era names.
Timeline The system of Japanese era names was not the same as
Imperial reign dates. ==Events of the
Hakuchi era==