forces are sent to quell the disturbance. 1638 (Kan'ei 15): The Christian revolt was crushed; and 37,000 of the rebels are killed. The Christian religion is extirpated in Japan. 1640 (Kan'ei 17): A Spanish ship from Macao brought a delegation of 61 people to Nagasaki. They arrived on July 6, 1640; and on August 9, all of them were decapitated and their heads were stuck on poles. 1640-1643 (Kan'ei 17-20): Kan'ei Great Famine forces an agricultural reform giving a greater independence to the farmers and the reduction of military spendings. 1643 (Kan'ei 20): An ambassador from the King of Korea arrived in Heian-kyō. November 10, 1643 (Kan'ei 20, 29th day of the 9th month): In the 15th year of Empress Meishō's reign (明正天皇15年), the empress abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by her brother. December 15, 1643 (Kan'ei 20, 5th day of the 11th month): Emperor Go-Kōmyō acceded to the throne (sokui). Notes References Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. , . . Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. . Screech, Timon (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822. London: RoutledgeCurzon. , . . Titsingh, Isaac (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. . External links National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection Bank of Japan: Kan'ei Tsuho, Bunsen (copper coin = one mon) Japanese eras 1620s in Japan 1630s in Japan 1640s in Japan