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Yamato is the ancient name of Japan and essentially
means “big harmony.”
(Econ, 8/9/08, p.14)
Japan is about the same size as California or Montana.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, Par p.27)(Econ, 11/14/09, p.78)
30,000BCE The
Ainu were the aboriginal inhabitants of the Japanese islands back to
this time. They had European features, wavy hair and thick beards
before they intermarried with the Japanese.
(SFC, 8/23/97, p.A10)
20,000BC Some scientists believe that ancient people
from Siberia crossed the Bering land bridge about this time and began
their southward migration into the Americas. In 2001 skull measurements
indicated that members of the Jomon-Ainu of Japan made the first
crossings.
(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A13)(SFC, 7/31/01, p.A4)
10k-300BC The Jomon culture is associated with the
introduction of rice agriculture and the use of metal and probably came
from the Asian mainland.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A16)
5,500-4,000BC The Sannai Maruyama site in northern
Honshu uncovered postholes of houses and longhouses, graves, figurines
and animal remains.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.72)
660BC This is the mythical date of
the ascension of Japan's first emperor, Jimmu Tenno. He is said to have
been descended from Amaterasu, the sun goddess, who came from the eye
of the god Izanagi.
(HN, 2/11/97)(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(Econ, 9/9/06,
p.42)
400BC- 250AD The Yayoi culture is identified by its
pottery. Mongoloid people from Korea entered Japan and mixed with the
older Jomon populations.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34,38)
57CE The King of Nakoku sent an
envoy to the Eastern Han capital Loyang, the 1st recorded envoy to
China from Japan.
(www.museum.city.fukuoka.jp)
239 In Japan Queen Himiko (Pimiko,
Queen of Wa) of the Kingdom of Yamataikoku sent an envoy to China.
(www.gias.snu.ac.kr/wthong/)
250-710CE The Japanese Kofun period. Mongoloid people
from Korea continued to enter Japan and mixed with the older Jomon
populations.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.38)
300-400CE Historian Egami Namio in 1948 proposed the
"horserider" thesis that cited equestrian goods and foreign culture
elements as evidence that the ancestors of the Japanese imperial line
had migrated from Korea about this time and conquered the northern part
of Kyushu.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.36)
300-645 Yamato Period of Japan. The Yamato clan had
taken root in the Nara basin and gave rise to the people called
“Japanese.”
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(Hem, 9/04, p.41)
400-500AD Two imperial tombs of this time in Miyazaki
Prefecture, Kyushu, are held by legend to belong to Ninigi, grandson of
the sun goddess Amaterasu and his wife.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.12)
500-700CE Chronicles of the 8th century record the
peaceful arrival of immigrants from Korea in the 6th and 7th centuries.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.38)
538-552 Introduction of Buddhism to Japan from Korea.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
538-600 Buddhist missionaries introduced the art of
flower arranging to Japan. The 1st school of flower arranging, ikenobo,
was founded by Ono no Imoko in the early 7th century. Ikebana became
the umbrella name for the schools of flower arranging.
(SFEC, 4/23/00, Z1 p.2)
574 Prince Shotoku was born in
Japan. He later brought the Kongo family from Korea to Osaka and had
them build a Buddhist temple. The temple took 15 years to build and the
Kongo family became established as the premier temple builders in Japan.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R46)
578 The family business Kongo Gumi
was founded in Japan by a Korean in Osaka to build Buddhist temples.
The company continued to flourish in 2004 as general builder.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.104)
592-710 The Asuka Period of Japanese history.
(www.japan-101.com)
593-622AD The Regency of Prince Shotoku on Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
699 En no Ozunu appeared in the
official Japanese national log of events or the 'Shoku Nihongi.' It is
in this year that En was banished from society, following the charge
that he "misused his magical powers to control people." It is believed
that En No Gyoja was historically known as En no Ozunu. The Japanese
ascetic En-no-Gyoja founded the Shugendo religion on Mount Omine (5,640
feet). He blended aspects of tantric Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism,
Confucianism and Japanese shamanism.
(SSFC, 10/2/05, p.E4)(http://tinyurl.com/8s4gm)
604 In Japan a 17 article
constitution was promulgated by Prince Shotoku (574-622). It was a
Confucian document that focused more on ethics and virtue than on the
basic laws by which the state was to be run. [see 702]
(www.theosophy.org/tlodocs/teachers/PrinceShotoku.htm)
607 Ono no Imoko was sent as an
envoy from Japan to the Sui court in China.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
645AD Downfall of the Soga Clan in
Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
658 Hirafu Abe went to meet with
the Ainu on Hokkaido after he had defeated an indigenous tribe called
Emishi in the northeast region of Honshu.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 217)
c670 A Japanese inventor based the
first design of a folding fan on the structure of a bat's wing.
(SFEC, 8/3/97, Z1 p.2)
700-800 The Tanka (short song) poetry form emerged in
Japan about this time. The unrhymed verse formalized to 31 syllables
arranged in a 5 line pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. In 2005 it became popular on
cell phones.
(WSJ, 10/4/05, p.A1)
700-800 In Japan a priest in the 8th century
discovered the mineral hot springs at Yamashiro Onsen.
(WSJ, 7/19/05, p.A1)
702 Japan's first civil and penal
code was promulgated. [see 604CE]
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
710 The Fujiwara clan established
the Kasuga Shrine in Nara, Japan.
(Hem, 9/04, p.46)
710-784 The Nara Period of Japan. Japan’s 1st
permanent capital arose in the Nara basin.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(Hem, 9/04, p.41)
712AD The publication of Kojiki in
Japan, the Record of Ancient Matters. The work was compiled by the
court to strengthen its control over various noble lineages. Fictitious
rulers were inserted to project the nation's founding back to 660BC
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)
718 The Japanese inn Hoshi Ryokan
was founded in Komatsu.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.104)(SFC, 4/14/06, p.D1)
720 The Nihon Shoki (the Chronicle
of Japan), the oldest recorded Japanese document, was published. It was
compiled by the court to strengthen its control over various noble
lineages.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)(WSJ,
1/11/99, p.R46)
752AD The dedication of the Great
Buddha of Todai Temple in Nara.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
c752 Emperor Shomu built a great
Buddhist temple and started a collection from the gifts that were
brought to its dedication. Rulers for the next 12 centuries added to
the collection.
(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A20)
764-770 Empress Shotoku had a million miniature
pagodas made in thanks for regaining control of the throne. Sacred text
was placed in each one and distributed to the 10 most important temples.
(WSJ, 7/27/00, p.A20)
794 The capital of Japan was moved
from Nara to Kyoto and the new Imperial Palace was built there. It
remained there until 1868.
(Hem., 2/96, p.57-58)(Hem, 9/04, p.41)
794-1185 The Heian Period in Japan. The kimono
originated in this period. Prof. Helen McCullough (d.1998) of UC
Berkeley and her husband translated "A Tale of Flowering Fortunes,"
whose notes and appendixes made it an encyclopedia of Heian court life.
She published 11 volumes of studies and translations of classical
Japanese poetry that included: "The Tale of the Heike" and "The Great
Mirror."
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(SFC, 2/7/97, p.D1)(SFC,
4/23/98, p.B4)
795-1185 The Heian period was a time of elegant and
refined rice papers.
(SFC, 5/17/97, p.A20)
894 Japan abolishes the sending of
envoys to China.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
c900-1000 The Japanese discovered the wasabe root
growing near mountain streams and began incorporating it into their
cuisine.
(SFC, 6/3/98, Z1 p.6)
995-1027 Heyday of the Fujiwara Clan in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
c1000-1100 A Buddhist shrine was constructed in Uji,
Japan. In 1968 the Byodo-In Temple at the foot of the Koolaus Mountains
on Oahu, Hawaii, was built as a replica of the 900-year-old shrine.
(SFEM, 10/12/97, p.20)
1002-1019 In Japan Lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote her
classic court novel "The Tale of Genji." The novel "Genji Monogatari"
(Genji the Shining One) was later considered the world's 1st novel. The
long work explored the imperial court of the Heian period through the
life and many loves of Genji, son of the emperor's favorite concubine.
Arthur Waley made an English translation in 6 installments between 1925
and 1933. Edward Seidensticker made a translation in 1976. Royall Tyler
made a new translation in 2001. In 2000 Liza Dalby authored her
novel "The Tale of Murasaki."
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(WSJ, 2/5/98, p.A20)(WSJ,
1/11/99, p.R34)(WSJ, 7/5/00, p.A20)(WSJ, 11/16/01, p.W14)(SFEC,
7/16/00, BR p.3)
c1100-1200 Nichiren Daishonin, the son of a fisherman
in Awa, established a new sect of Buddhism. In 1930 the Soka Gakkai
(value-creation society) was founded in Tokyo based on his teachings.
(WSJ, 4/23/99, B1)
1129 Aug 21, The warrior Yoritomo
was made Shogun without equal in Japan.
(HN, 8/21/98)
1169-1181 The heyday of the Kiyomori Clan in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1180-1185 War between the Taira and Minamoto clans in
Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1181 Aug 4, A supernova was seen
in Cassiopeia. Chinese and Japanese astronomers observed a supernova.
The star 3C58 was later identified as the heart of the explosion in the
constellation Cassiopeia. In 2002 it was thought to be composed of
quarks.
(MC, 8/4/02)(SFC, 4/11/02, p.A2)
1185-1333 The Kamakura Period of Japan. A sect known
as Pure Land Buddhism began to enjoy great popularity.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(SFC, 3/14/03, p.D1)
1191 Zen Buddhism, guided by the
Dao (The Way) arrived to Japan from China.
(Hem., 2/96, p.58)
1192 The founding of the Kamakura
Shogunate in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
c1200-1300 Nichiren was 13th-century Japanese monk
and reformer. He founded a Buddhist school and wrote: "When great evil
occurs, great good will follow."
(WSJ, 3/28/02, p.A20)
1233 The royal family began to
stain their teeth black in a fashion statement.
(WSJ, 9/2/99, p.A12)
1264 According to Marco Polo,
Kublai Khan in this year sent a large body of troops to attack Japan,
then known as the island of Zipangu. The two officers in charge, named
Abbacatan and Vonsancin, failed to cooperate and the adventure failed.
[see 1274]
(TMPV, P.255)
1274 The first Mongol invasion of
Japan. [see 1264]
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1281 Aug 14, During the second
Mongol attempt to conquer Japan, Kublai Khan's invading fleet
disappeared in typhoon off of Japan. A Mongol army of 45,000 from Korea
had joined an armada with 120,000 men from southern China landing at
Hakozaki Bay. The typhoon destroyed their fleet leaving them to death
or slavery.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(EWH, 4th ed., p.369)(MC,
8/14/02)
c1330 Retired Emp. Go-Fushimi
authored a plea to the god of the Kamo shrine for help in gaining the
thrown for his son, Prince Tokihito. Tokihito got to reign after a
short delay when Go-Daigo refused to step down. Two years later
Go-Daigo got the thrown back.
(SFC,12/15/97, p.E3)
1333 The Kamakura Shogunate of
Japan falls.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1333-1573 The Ashikaga (or Muromachi) Period of
Japan. The Chinese Kara-yo style of architecture evolved during this
period.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(Hem., 2/96, p.58)
1334 Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan
temporarily regained power.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)(SFC,12/15/97, p.E3)
1334-1615 In 1961 George Sansom authored "A History
of Japan, 1334-1615."
(ON, 7/01, p.5)
1338 The founding of the Ashikaga
Shogunate in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1368-1644 China extended its hegemony over the Ryukyu
Islands legitimating 3 kings in exchange for submission to the Ming
emperor.
(NH, 9/01, p.56)
1372 The 1st Ryukyuan emissaries
reached Nanjing and presented tribute to the Ming emperor.
(NH, 9/01, p.56)
1392-1910 The Choson Dynasty ruled over this period.
(Hem., Oct. '95, p.17)
1422 Mar 30, Ketsugan, a Zen
teacher, performed exorcisms to free the Aizoji temple.
(MC, 3/30/02)
1429 The kingdom of Ryukyu was
unified under the court at Shuri (later part of Naha, Okinawa).
(NH, 9/01, p.56)
1449 Ashikaga Yoshimasa (14)
inherited the office of Shogun, the chief military and civic leader of
feudal Japanese society. His leadership focused on the arts and
depleted the national treasury, which led to social and political
anarchy.
(ON, 7/01, p.3)
1457 Koshamain, an Ainu chieftain
on Hokkaido, led a rebellion against Japanese encroachment, but it was
put down by Nobuhiro Takeda.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 214)
1467 May, The 11-year Onin War
began in Kyoto. In 1967 H. Paul Valery authored "The Onin War."
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(ON, 7/01, p.5)
1478 The Onin War ended after
rival warlords died of natural causes. Shogun Yoshimasa disinherited
his brother and abdicated in favor of his son.
(ON, 7/01, p.5)
1482 The Ginkaku Temple, also
known as the Silver Pavilion was built in Kyoto, Japan. The Shogun who
built it died before its completion and it remains without silver.
(Hem., 2/96, p.58)
1490 Ashikaga Yoshimasa, former
shogun (1449-1478), died at age 55.
(ON, 7/01, p.5)
1532 A 2,100 lb. bell was cast in
Japan. It was later shipped to San Francisco and placed in the Asian
Art Museum. It was rung every New Year 108 times after a Buddhist
tradition, once for each of the mortal desires that plague mankind.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.A15)
1536 Toyotomi Hideyoshi (d.1598),
Japan’s unifier and folk hero, was born in a village called Nakamura in
Owari province.
(www.samurai-archives.com/hideyoshi.html)
1539 Japanese trading monopolies
ended in favor of a free market.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)
1542 Antonio da Mota, Portuguese
explorer, became the first European to enter Japan.
(TL-MB, p.16)
1542 Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu
(d.1616) was born. Japan was united under his rule around 1600.
(SFC, 8/21/00, p.D1)
1543 Portuguese ships landed on
the Japanese Island of Tanega. The first European visitors to Japan
introduced muskets and baked bread.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(TL-MB,
p.16)
1549 Aug 15, Francis Xavier,
Portuguese Jesuit missionary, landed in Kagoshima, Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(ON, 11/02, p.8)(MC,
8/15/02)
1558-1637 Hon'ami Koetsu, art collector, calligrapher
and ceramist in Kyoto.
(WSJ, 9/21/00, p.A24)
1560 In Japan a foundry began
making pots and developed to become Nabeya B-tech Kaisha (NBK), a 21st
century maker of high-precision machine parts.
(Econ, 3/8/08, p.72)
1568 Nobunaga Oda seized Kyoto.
General Oda Nobunaga, Japanese leader who seized Kyoto and destroyed
the power of the feudal lords, introduces a dynamic period of
centralization and expansion.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(TL-MB, p.21)
1568 Lord Oda Nobunaga destroyed
the town of Sakai after the town council resisted a military tax.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R51)
1568 A theater was built on
Miyajima Island.
(SFEC, 3/26/00, p.T11)
1568-1600 The Azuchi-Momoyama Period.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1570 The Japanese opened the port
of Nagasaki to overseas trade.
(TL-MB, p.22)
1573 Japan’s Ashikaga shogunate
ended after 237 years with Shogun Yoshiake routed in his challenge of
ruler Nobunaga Oda.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573-1615 The Momoyama period of Japan. It coincided
with the ascendancy of 3 warlords and represented a time of temporary
peace with the opening of the country to Western influence.
(WSJ, 9/25/96, p.A20)
1575 A battle was fought that
arrayed 3,000 guns against men on horseback using stirrups. The gun
force won and changed the course of Japanese fighting.
(WSJ, 6/9/99, p.A27)
1582 Nobunaga was assassinated.
Nobunaga, ruler of Japan, was assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide. He was
succeeded by Hideyoshi, who killed Mitsuhide and carried on the work of
breaking feudal power.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215) (TL-MB, p.23)
1583 Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(1536-1598), Japan’s unifier and folk hero, laid the foundation for
Osaka Castle. It was completed in 1587. Civil war and fire destroyed
the castle several times. The castle was rebuilt in 1931 and
refurbished in 1997.
(Hem, 9/04, p.41)
1585 Toyotomi Hideyoshi was
appointed civil dictator.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1586 In Japan Kabuki theater
began. [see 1603]
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1587 Jul 25, Japanese shogun
Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned Christianity in Japan and ordered all
Christians to leave. Although the order was not immediately enforced. A
decade later, the crackdown began, and 26 Christians were crucified.
(HN, 7/25/98)(AP, 11/21/08)
1587 Osaka Castle, Japan, whose
foundation had been laid by Hideyoshi in 1583 was completed with the
help of 30,000 workers.
(TL-MB, p.24)
1590s A six paneled screen
painting by Kano Eitoku depicted mythological Chinese lions.
(WSJ, 9/25/96, p.A20)
1592 Toyotomi Hideyoshi
sent an army to invade Korea after Korea refused to help him invade
China. This set off a war that lasted 6 years.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p.
215)(www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/455711)
1592 Korea defenders led by Gen.
Jeong Mun-bu scored a victory over an invading Japanese army at
Bukgwan. A monument with a description of the fight was raised a
century later. During the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905 a Japanese
general shipped the monument to Japan where it was set in the Yasukuni
shrine. It was recognized by a South Korean in 1978 and in 2005 Shinto
priests agreed to return it to Seoul.
(Econ, 10/15/05, p.46)
1592-1598 Korean Adm. Yi Sun Sin (1545-1598) employed
his ironclad "turtle ships" to fight off an invasion by Japan.
Hundreds of Japanese vessels were sunk during the prolonged Japanese
invasion.
(www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/455711)
1597 Sep 28, The Mimizuka, or Ear
Mound, was dedicated in Kyoto. In it was buried the collected ears and
noses of victims from the Japanese invasion of Korea that began in 1592.
(SFEC, 9/14/97, p.A25)
1597 In Nagasaki 26 Japanese and
Western Christians were crucified. These martyrs were beatified in 1627
and became saints in 1862, among the 42 people from Japan who have been
canonized, or reached sainthood.
(SSFC, 8/10/03, p.C11)(AP, 11/21/08)
1598 Sep 18, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(b.1536), Japan’s unifier and folk hero, died. His death left two main
rivals for power, Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi)
1599 The Takeda family, which
controlled Hokkaido, changed its name to Matsumae, built a castle by
that name and allied itself with Ieyasu Tokugawa, who was on the verge
of establishing his Shogunate.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 218)
1600 Apr 19, The Dutch ship
Liefde, piloted by Will Adams, reached Japan with a crew of 24 men. 6
of the crew soon died. 4 other ships in the expedition were lost.
(ON, 11/02, p.8)
1600 Oct 21, Tokugawa leyasu
defeated his enemies in the battle of Sekigahara and affirmed his
position as Japan's most powerful warlord. The win enabled Ieyasu to
found a 265-year ruling dynasty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sekigahara)(Econ, 10/31/09,
p.54)
1600s The ancient art of Sumo
wrestling became a professional sport.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1600-1867 The Tokugawa (or Edo) Period.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1600-1868 The cosmopolitan Edo period, the heyday of
the woodblock print.
(WSJ, 4/24/96, A-12)
1602 Japan's Shogun Ieyasu seized
the Dutch ship Liefde and granted its crew allowances to live in Japan.
(ON, 11/02, p.9)
1603 Kabuki theater started when a
shrine maiden named Okuni traveled to Kyoto and performed a dance of
ecstasy dressed in men's clothing while chanting Buddha's name. [see
1586]
(SFC, 7/12/01, p.A23)
1603 In Japan the wooden
Nihonbashi bridge, half way between Edo Bay and Edo Castle, was built.
In 1911 it was replaced by a stone version.
(Econ, 10/7/06, p.52)
1603 The Nijo Castle was built in
Kyoto, Japan, as a residence for the Shogun. The castle's Ninomaru
Palace was famous for its "nightingale" (creaking) floors that warn of
intruders.
(Hem., 2/96, p.60)
1603 Tokyo replaced Kyoto as the
administrative center of Japan.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R51)
1603-1868 The founding and era of the Tokugawa
Shogunate.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)
1605 Dec 27, English sea captain
John Davis was killed by Japanese pirates whose ship he had captured
off the coast of Sumatra. In 1889 Clements Markham authored “A Life of
John Davis, the Navigator, 1550-1605, Discoverer of Davis Straits.”
(ON, 11/05, p.9)
1605 Japan's Shogun Ieyasu allowed
some of the Dutch crew of the ship Liefde to return home, but kept Will
Adams in Japan. Adams soon married Magoma Oyuki, a young noblewoman.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1608 Shogun Ieyasu ordered Will
Adams to go to the Philippines to invite the Spanish Gov. Don Diego
Vevero y Velasco to compete with the Portuguese for trade with Japan.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1609 Forces from the Japanese
feudal domain of Satsuma invaded the Ryukyu Islands and took the king
hostage. Heavy tribute was soon demanded.
(NH, 9/01, p.56)
1609 Spanish ships began visiting
Japan and Spanish Dominicans began missionary work.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1610 Retired-Japanese Samurai
Hachirobei Mitsui pawned a couple of his swords and started a ribbon
and kimono shop. It grew to become the world's oldest department store,
Tokyo's Mitsukoshi.
(SFC, 7/7/96, zone 1 p.5)
1613 A fleet of 3 English ships
arrived in Japan in response to letters from Will Adams to the English
East India Company.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1614 Shogun Ieyasu ordered all
Christian missionaries to leave Japan. All Christian churches were
closed and Japanese people were forbidden to practice Christianity on
pain of death.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1615 Jun 4, The Tokugawa Shogun
captured Osaka Castle and eliminated Hide-yoshi's heirs. The fortress
of Osaka, Japan, fell to shogun Leyasu after a six month siege.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(HN, 6/4/98)
1615 Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu
granted land to Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637), a calligraphy artist. The
property was named Takagamine and became a colony for artists united by
their adherence to Buddhism.
(SFC, 8/21/00, p.D3)
1615-1868 The Edo period. [see 1600-1868]
(SFC, 12/26/98, p.C1)
1616 Shogun Ieyasu (b.1642),
Japanese general and statesman, died.
(WUD, 1994 p.759)(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1618 Kana Takanobu (b.1571),
Japanese artist, died.
(NYT, 10/8/04, p.B35)
1620 Will Adams,
English-Dutch-Japanese ship pilot, died in Japan. In 1956 P.G. Rogers
authored "The First Englishman in Japan."
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1627 Japan banned contact with
foreigners and closed its ports except for limited trade with Holland.
[see 1639]
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)
1628-1695 Enku was an artist-priest who took a vow to
sculpt 120,000 images of the Buddha.
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1629 Women performers were banned
in Kabuki theaters to prevent prostitution and were replaced by young
boys. The ban spawned a new breed of male actors.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)(SFC, 6/14/05, p.B3)
c1630 The widow of a samurai set
up a business that grew to become the Kikkoman Corp., the world’s
leading maker of soy sauce.
(WSJ, 12/27/99, p.A1)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.105)
1636 Westerners in Japan were
sequestered on the man-made island of Dejima in Nagasaki's harbor as
the government cracked down on all things foreign. The island later
disappeared in land reclamation projects.
(SSFC, 8/10/03, p.C11)
1637 Gekkeikan began making sake
in Kyoto, Japan. The company began supplying the imperial household in
1909.
(SSFC, 9/26/04, p.D12)
1637-1638 The Christians of Shimabara, Japan rebel.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1639 Japan was closed to the
outside world except for a Dutch trading post.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1639 Jesuit Father Petro Kassui
Kibe, a convert to Christianity, was captured, tortured and martyred in
Tokyo. He had initially managed to escape persecution and traveled to
Rome, where he became a Jesuit and was ordained to the priesthood. He
then returned to Japan to minister to other oppressed Christians. The
188 other martyrs included four Jesuit priests, other priests, brothers
and nuns, lay men and women, all killed in different cities
between 1603 and 1639 after the Japanese government outlawed
Christianity. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI approved recognition of their
martyrdom.
(www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603392.htm)(AP, 6/2/07)
1641 Japan designated an
artificial island in Nagasaki harbor as the only place that foreigners
could live.
(Econ, 11/24/07, p.47)
1644-1694 Basho Matsuo, poet. His work include "The
Narrow Road." One of his poems celebrated the entrancing cry of the
cicada.
(SFC, 11/28/96, p.C16)(WUD, 1994, p.124)(SFC,
7/29/97, p.C3)
1653 Chikamatsu Monzaemon
(d.1725), Kyoto and Osaka playwright, was born.
(SFC, 6/20/05, p.C1)
1658-1716 Ogata Korin, artist. The artist created the
cartoonish "Gods of Wind and Thunder."
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1661 In Japan the Takanoshi family
started producing food seasonings and became known for its soy sauce.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1673 In Japan the Mitsukoshi store
introduced fixed prices.
(Econ, 8/25/07, p.58)
1685-1768 Hakuin Ekaku, Zen painter. His work
included "Side View of Daruma."
(SSFC, 9/23/01, DB p.48)
c1690 "The Narrow Road" by Basho
Matsuo (1644?-1694) was written during a 1,500 mile journey through the
Japanese countryside. It was a 64-page collection of prose and haiku
poems and became a Japanese classic. A manuscript of the work was found
in 1996.
(SFC, 11/28/96, p.C16)(WUD, 1994, p.124)
1700 Jan 27, A tsunami hit Honshu
Island, Japan. It was later estimated that wave was triggered by a 9.0
magnitude earthquake in California.
(CW, Spring ‘99, p.32)
1671-1743 Kaigetsudo Ando (d.1743), Japanese artist,
was born. He is also called Okazaki Genshichi.
(www.britannica.com/eb/article-9044336)
1702 Omori Yoshikiyo, Japanese
ehon artist, created his work “Trailing Willows,” which depicted the
working women in the government sanctioned pleasure quarter of Kyoto.
(WSJ, 1/4/07, p.B11)
1702 Meijin Dosaku, go-master to
the shogun of Japan, died. He was the 4th head of the Honimbo go school
and is held by many Japanese to have been the game’s greatest player.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.129)
1702 Basho Matsuo, poet, died.
(SFC, 11/28/96, p.C16)
1703 Dec 30, Tokyo was hit by
Earthquake and some 37,000 people died.
(MC, 12/30/01)
1703 A pair of lovers committed
suicide in Osaka. The story of the courtesan and young merchant was
quickly depicted in the Kabuki play “The Love suicides at Sonexaki” by
Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725).
(SFC, 6/20/05, p.C5)
c1705 Yodoya Tatsugora, Japanese
merchant, died. He was a member of the 5th generation of a family that
became rich as silk traders and rice merchants. The Shogunate claimed
that his wealth was unbecoming and confiscated it. Many government
officials owed him money.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R8)
1707 A sunrise ritual was begun in
Nagano where a gong announced the call to worship.
(SFC, 2/6/98, p.A1)
1707 Mount Fuji erupted.
(SFC, 2/14/98, p.A12)
1708 The Great Buddha Hall at
Nara’s Todaiji Temple, the world’s largest wooden structure, was
rebuilt at two thirds of the original scale.
(Hem, 9/04, p.46)
1710 "The Narrow Road" by Basho
Matsuo was first published.
(SFC, 11/28/96, p.C16)
1714 In Japan Ando Kaigetsudo
(1671-1743) was banished to the island of Oshima. He was the founder of
the Kaigetsudo school of ukiyo-e (scenes of the transient world of
daily life) painters and print designers.
(SSFC, 11/20/05,
p.M1)(www.ready-to-hang.com/LCP_ArtNotes/Kaigetsudo_Ando_Bio.htm)
1716-1800 Ito Jakuchu, artist. He created the
"Vegetable Parinirvana," a hanging scroll that recasts the Buddha as a
languishing radish surrounded by other vegetable onlookers.
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1719 Chikamatsu Monzaemon created
his Kabuki Theater masterpiece "Shankun: The Exile on Devil's Island."
(SFEC, 9/8/96, DB p.7)
1720 The world's 1st futures
exchange began in Osaka with trade in 3-months forward contracts in
rice.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R51)
1721-1785 Reigen Eto, Zen painter. His work included
"White-Robbed Kannon."
(SSFC, 9/23/01, DB p.48).
1730 The first legally recognized
futures market opened in Japan.
(Wired, 9/96, p.36)
1755 Watanabe Shiko (b.1683),
Japanese painter based in Kyoto, died.
(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E12)
1759 Soga Shohaku (1730-1781),
Japanese artist, created his “Hanshan and Shide” about this time.
(SFC, 1/14/06, p.E1)
1760 Oct 21, Katsushika Hokusai
(d.1849), Japanese printmaker, was born. Hokusai was a master designer
of color woodblock prints. His paintings included 36 views of Mt. Fuji.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.E3)(WSJ, 11/3/98, p.A20)(HN,
10/21/00)
1762 Gosakuramachi ascended
Japan’s throne. She ruled until 1770 and as of 2006 was Japan's last
woman ruler.
(AP, 9/6/06)(http://tinyurl.com/rcnhc)
1776 Ike Taiga (b.1723), Japanese
painter based in Kyoto, died.
(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E1)
1780 A Japanese whaling ship ran
aground near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. Rats from the
ship reached the nearest island giving it the name Rat Island. The
incident introduced the non-native Norway rat, also known as the brown
rat, to Alaska. The rats terrorized all but the largest birds on the
island. In the Fall of 2008 poison was dropped onto the island from
helicopter-hoisted buckets for a week and a half. By mid 2009 there
were no signs of living rats and some birds had returned.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.43)(Reuters, 6/12/09)
1781 Soga Shohaku (b.1730),
Japanese artist, died.
(SFC, 1/14/06, p.E1)
1783 Mount Asama, one of Japan's
largest and most active volcanoes, had a major eruption.
(AP, 9/15/04)
1783 Yosa Buson (b.1716), Japanese
painter based in Kyoto, died. His work included “Landscapes on silver
Ground” (1782).
(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E1)(SFC, 1/14/06, p.E10)
1783-1786 Japan suffered one of its worst famines in
history when exceptional cold destroyed the rice harvest. As many as 1
million people died. Most of the impact for this was due to the
eruptions of the Laki volcano in Iceland beginning in June, 1783.
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.134)
1788 A great fire destroyed much
of the wooden city of Kyoto, Japan.
(WSJ, 1/25/06,
p.D10)(www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/historical/chronology.html)
1790 Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800),
Japanese painter, created his "Compendium of Vegetable and Insects."
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)(SFC, 1/14/06, p.E1)
1790 A bronze Buddha was cast in
Japan. In 1945 it was donated by the Gump family to the city of San
Francisco. It resides in the Japanese Tea Garden and was in need of
$81,000 worth of repairs.
(SFC, 12/30/96, p.A11)
1793 Apr 1, The volcano
Unsen on Japan erupted killing about 53,000.
(OTD)
1795 Kitagawa Utamoro, Japanese
artist, made his woodblock print "Oiran" about this time.
(WSJ, 4/24/96, A-12)
1795 Maruyama Okyo (b.1733),
Japanese painter based in Kyoto, died. His work included a 50 mile
scene in "Both Banks of the Yodo River" and “Landscape With Pavilions
in Snow” (1787).
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E1)(SFC,
1/14/06, p.E10)
1797-1858 Utagawa Hiroshige, artist, made numerous
color woodblock prints.
(SFC, 12/26/98, p.C1)
1799 Nagasawa Rosetsu (b.1754),
Japanese painter based in Kyoto, died. His work included “Monkey on a
Rock.”
(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E1)(SFC, 1/14/06, p.E10)
1800 Ito Jakuchu (b.1716),
Japanese painter based in Kyoto, died.
(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E12)
1800-1900 Tokyo was called Edo and served as the
shogun's power seat.
(SFEC, 8/9/98, p.T5)
1811 Matsumura Gekkei (b.1752)
also known as Goshun, Japanese painter based in Kyoto, died.
(SFC, 12/8/05, p.E1)
1813 The Tokujo-maru, a Japanese
ship with a cargo of rice for Edo, was blown off course. Three
surviving crew members were picked up 18 months later by a British ship
off the coast of California.
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.64)
1816 Two British naval ships under
Captain Basil Hall landed at Okinawa, in the Ryukyu archipelago, which
was then known as Loo-Choo. In 1818 Hall published an account of his
voyage: “Account of a Voyage of Discovery to the West Coast of Corea,
and the Great Loo-Choo Island.”
(Econ, 10/29/05,
p.44)(www.polybiblio.com/bibliotrek/BT000004..html)
1820 Keisai Eisen, artist,
pictured an intricately coifed woman that later appeared on the cover
of a French magazine and inspired Van Gogh's 1887 "Courtesan."
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1820 An American whaling ship from
Brighton, Massachusetts, was later believed to be the first to enter
Japanese waters.
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.64)
1822 Utagawa Kunisada, Japanese
artist, painted "The Popular Type."
(WSJ, 4/24/96, A-12)
1824-1860 Yanagawa Shigenobu II, Japanese printmaker,
was active. His work included the color woodcut “Kuroho” (1832-1836).
(www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/shigenobu_ii_yanagawa.html)
1825 Japan issued an edict that
spelled out what would happen to uninvited guests. “Should any
foreigners land anywhere, they must be arrested or killed.”
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.63)
1830-1840 Hokusai (1760-1849) made his "Thirty-Six
Views of Mount Fuji during this decade. The wood blocks included "Under
the Wave of Kanagawa," "The Back of Mt. Fuji from Minobu River," and
"Winter Loneliness." The last was inspired by a poem of Minamoto no
Muneyuki Ason. Another series was titled "A Tour of Japanese
Waterfalls.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.E3)
1831 Takashsimaya was founded in
Kyoto, Japan, as a kimono shop. It grew to become the nation's largest
department store chain.
(SFC, 6/11/96, p.A14)
1833 Aoki Mokubei (b.1767),
Japanese poet and potter, died.
(NYT, 10/8/04, p.B35)
1834 A crippled Hojun-maru junk,
blown off course with 3 Japanese castaways, washed ashore on Cape
Flattery in Washington state. Makah Indians seized the cargo, enslaved
the sailors and then sold them to the Hudson’s Bay Company.
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.64)
1835 Ryoma Sakamoto was born. He
became a samurai dedicated to toppling the feudal government.
(WSJ, 6/14/00, p.A1)
1836 Jun 10, Yamaoka Tesshu,
Japanese swordsman, was born.
(HN, 6/10/98)
1839 Spring, A craze for costume
dancing swept Kyoto for a few weeks.
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1841 William Whitfield, captain of
the whaling ship John Howland, from Fairhaven, Mass., picked up 5
castaways from Japan’s Torishima Island, including a boy named Manjiro,
who returned with Whitfield to Fairhaven. Manjiro later returned to
Japan, and translated Nathaniel Bowditch’s “The New American
Navigator,” known to mariners as the “seaman’s bible.” In 1854 Manjiro
acted as interpreter with Commodore Perry and in 1860 joined the 1st
Japanese embassy to America.
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.66)
1848 Jul 1, Ranald MacDonald
(1824-1894), a Chinook-Scottish sailor, separated from an American
whaling ship and arrived at Rishiri Island off Hokkaido, Japan. He was
imprisoned for virtually his whole 10-month stay. In 2003 Frederik L.
Schodt authored "Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald
MacDonald and the Opening of Japan."
(SSFC, 7/12/03, p.M3)(Econ, 12/22/07, p.63)
1849 Katsushika Hokusai (b.1760),
Japanese printmaker, died.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.E3)(WSJ, 11/3/98, p.A20)(HN,
10/21/00)
1853 Jul 3, Commodore Matthew
Perry reached Japan. [see Jul 8]
(MC, 7/3/02)
1853 Jul 7, Japan opened its ports
to trade with the West after 250 years of isolation. [see July 8]
(HN, 7/7/01)
1853 Jul 8, An expedition led by
Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay, Uraga, Japan, on a mission
to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese. Perry sailed
his flagship USS Susquehanna into Edo Bay. He soon forced Japan to open
its ports with his big gunboats, the steam-powered “Black Ships.”
(AP, 7/8/97)(SFEC, 1/25/98, Z1 p.2)(ON, 11/04, p.9)
1853 Jul 14, Commodore Matthew
Perry met with Prince Toda and Prince Ido at ceremony at Kurihama,
Japan, and presented a letter from former Pres. Fillmore to Emperor
Osahito requesting trade relations. Fillmore's term of office had
already expired by the time the letter was delivered.
(ON, 11/04, p.12)(AP, 7/14/07)
1853 Aug, Japan’s Chief Shogun
Ieoshi died.
(ON, 11/04, p.12)
1854 Feb 11, Commodore Matthew
Perry pulled into Edo Bay, Japan, 12 months early with 9 warships to
begin talks for a treaty.
(ON, 11/04, p.12)
1854 Mar 8, US Commodore Matthew
C. Perry landed at Yokohama on his 2nd trip to Japan. Within a month,
he concluded a treaty with the Japanese. In 2003 Christopher Benfey
authored "The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics and
the Opening of Old Japan."
(AP, 3/8/98)(SSFC, 5/18/03, p.M6)
1854 Mar 31, Chief Shogun Iyesada,
following negotiations with Commodore Perry, approved the Treaty of
Kanagawa on behalf of Emperor Osahito. This forced Japan to open its
ports to foreign trade.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(ON, 11/04, p.12)
1854 Dec 23, The 8.4 Ansei Tokai
Quake struck Japan. The epicenter ranged from Suruga Bay to the deep
ocean, but destroyed houses as far away as in Edo. The accompanying
tsunami caused damage along the entire coast from the Boso Peninsula in
modern-day Chiba prefecture to Tosa province (modern-day Kochi
prefecture).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansei_Great_Earthquakes)
1854 Dec 24, The 8.4 Ansei Nankai
Quake struck Japan. Over 10,000 people from the Tokai region down to
Kyushu were killed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansei_Great_Earthquakes)
1855 Nov 11, The 6.9 Ansei Edo
earthquake hit near Tokyo, Japan. Some 8,000 casualties resulted with
about 14,000 structures destroyed.
(www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/2008_Shaken%20and%20Rectified.pdf)(Econ,
7/4/09,
p.39)
1855 Japan acquired the Kurile
Islands, a chain of 56 islands that extended 744 miles from Hokkaido to
Russia's Kamchatka peninsula.
(SFC, 8/14/01, p.A7)
1857 Mar 21, An earthquake hit
Tokyo and about 107,000 died.
(MC, 3/21/02)
1858 Jul 29, Japan signed a treaty
of commerce and friendship with the United States.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(HN, 7/29/98)
1858 Utagawa Hiroshige (b.1797),
one of the greatest Japanese artists, died of cholera in Edo. His "53
Stages on the Tokaido" Road, first published in 1863-4 as an
accordion-like album, influenced French and American painters from Paul
Cezanne to James McNeill Whistler.
(AP, 6/28/05)(http://tinyurl.com/92q4b)
1860 Mar 9, The first Japanese
ambassador to the United States, Niimi Buzennokami, and his staff
arrived in San Francisco.
(AP, 3/9/05)
1862-1922 Mori Ogai, Japanese writer. His work
included "The Wild Goose."
(MT, Fall '96, p.15)
1864 Sep 5, British, French &
Dutch fleets attacked Japan in Shimonoseki Straits.
(MC, 9/5/01)
1864 The Oura Catholic Church was
built in Nagasaki in honor of the 26 Japanese and Western Christians
crucified there in 1597.
(SSFC, 8/10/03, p.C11)
1867 Apr 25, Tokyo was opened for
foreign trade.
(HN, 4/25/98)
1867 Jan 8, Japan’s Emperor
Osahito died. The Tokugawa Shogunate gave up power as a revolutionary
movement overthrew Shogun Iyesada. Rebels introduced a representative
government under the name of Emperor Maiji (1852-1912).
(www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/states/japan/japan.html)(ON, 11/04, p.12)
1867 Ryoma Sakamoto, a samurai,
helped topple the feudal government system. Ryoma means Dragon Horse.
(WSJ, 6/14/00, p.A1)
1868 Jan 3, Emperor Meiji ascended
the throne and assumed power. The Meiji Restoration re-established the
authority of Japan's emperor and heralded the fall of the military
rulers known as shoguns. The feudal clan system was abolished and
industrialism was started. Japan opened itself up to the West, thereby
obtaining the benefits of western technology. With the erosion of the
Tokugawa bakufu system and international pressure to open the country,
the boy emperor Mutsuhito—later known by the name Meiji—became the
political leader replacing the Tokugawa shogunate. The social and
political changes during the Meiji period (1868-1912) had begun in the
late Tokugawa period, but were only formalized with the creation of the
Meiji constitution in 1889.
(V.D.-H.K.p.243,286)(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(AP,
1/3/98)(HNQ, 11/21/00)
1868 Jul 4, In Japan the last
Tokugawa armies were defeated at the Battle at Ueno.
(Maggio, 98)
1868 It was forbidden to be born
or to die on Miyajima Island until the Meiji Restoration.
(SFEC, 3/26/00, p.T11)
1868 Ryoma Sakamoto, the rebel who
helped topple the feudal government system in 1967, was assassinated.
In 1966 Ryotaro Shiba authored the historical novel "Ryoma on the Move"
in 8 paperback volumes. Between 1987 and 1996 a comic series on Ryoma
ran in magazines and a 23-volume compilation was later made.
(WSJ, 6/14/00, p.A1,16)
1868-1912 The Meiji Period. [1867-1912]
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)
1869 Sep 10, A Baptist minister
invented the rickshaw in Yokohama, Japan. The jinrikisha, or rickshaw,
was developed as a cheap alternative to horse power in 1870. In 1998
Tony wheeler wrote "Chasing Rickshaws" with photographs by Richard
I'Anson.
(SFEC, 10/11/98, p.T9)(MC, 9/10/01)
1869 Japan’s Yasukuni shrine was
dedicated to the Japanese who died in wars since 1853. The name, which
means “peaceful country,” was bestowed by Emperor Meiji in 1879.
(Econ, 10/8/05, Survey p.15)
1869 In Yokohama Baptist
missionary Jonathan Scobie put together the first jinriksha to cart
around his invalid wife.
(SFC, 5/24/97, p.E3)
1870 In Japan Yataro Iwasaki began
Mitsubishi as a steamship company.
(WSJ, 7/15/97, p.A16)(Econ, 5/29/04, p.67)
1870 Baseball was brought to Japan
by American missionaries.
(http://tinyurl.com/6xjluk)(Econ, 3/29/08, p.83)
1871 Jun 27, The yen became the
new form of currency in Japan.
(HN, 6/27/98)
1872 Aug 23, The 1st Japanese
commercial ship visited SF carrying tea.
(MC, 8/23/02)
1872 A Japanese government decree
struck down ancient conventions that kept women off many of the
country’s mountains. In 2004 a 1,300-year tradition against women
climbers on Mount Omine continued.
(SSFC, 9/5/04, p.A2)
1873 Oji Paper was founded in
Japan. In 2006 it was Japan’s biggest paper company.
(Econ, 8/12/06, p.51)
1875 Joseph Neesima founded
Doshisha Univ. in Kyoto, Japan. He had previously acquired an American
education at Amherst College after defying a ban on travel abroad.
(SFC, 4/18/06, p.B5)
1875 Russia recognized Japan's
control over the 4 southernmost Kurile Islands.
(SFC, 1/19/99, p.A8)
1877 Oct 6,
Edward S. Morse (1839-1925), educator gave the first lecture on
evolution in Japan. He introduced modern ideas in archaeology and
zoology to Japan at Tokyo Univ.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)
1877 The rebellion of Satsuma
province was quelled.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1877 Saigo Takamori slits his
belly in ritual suicide rather than surrendering to Tokyo's hated
minions. The hilltop monument named Shiroyama in Kagoshima, Kyushu,
Japan, was dedicated to him.
(NG, Jan. 94, p.116)
1878 May 15, The Tokyo Stock
Exchange, Japan’s 1st public trading institution, formed.
(WSJ, 3/15/07, p.C1)
1879 Mar 25, Japan invaded the
kingdom of Liuqiu (Ryukyu) Islands, formerly a vassal of China. The
Ruykyuan monarchy was abolished and the islands were annexed to create
the Okinawa Prefecture. Prior to this Okinawa had paid tribute to
both Japan and China.
(HN, 3/25/99)(SSFC, 3/11/01, Par p.5)(NH, 9/01, p.56)
1879 The Asahi Shimbun newspaper
was founded.
(SFC,10/20/97, p.A19)
1880 Japan’s Yokohama Specie Bank
was founded. It became the Bank of Tokyo in 1946. Following later
mergers it became part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in 2005.
(WSJ, 9/23/08, p.C1)
1881 Shibata Zeshin made a book of
lacquer paintings on paper, a medium that he alone mastered.
(WSJ, 2/5/98, p.A20)
1881 The Asahi Shimbun newspaper
became jointly owned by Ryuhei Murayama and Riichi Ueno.
(SFC,10/20/97, p.A19)
1882 The central Bank of Japan was
established.
(SFC, 3/26/98, p.B2)
1883 Tokonami Seisei, self-taught
artist, painted "Volcano."
(WSJ, 2/5/98, p.A20)
1884 Apr 4, Isoroku Yamamoto,
Japanese Naval commander, was born. He masterminded the attack on Pearl
Harbor.
(HN, 4/4/99)
1884 Dec 30, Tojo Hideki, Japanese
Prime Minister during WWII, was born.
(HN, 12/30/98)
1885 Feb 9, The 1st Japanese
arrived in Hawaii.
(MC, 2/9/02)
1885 Apr 18, The Sino-Japanese war
ended.
(HN, 4/18/98)
1885 The first Shakespeare
production in Japan was a Kabuki adaptation of a Japanese novel
inspired by a Charles Lamb narrative based on "The Merchant of Venice."
(SFC,12/23/97, p.E6)
1887 Toyohara Chikanobu created
his woodblock print "Excursion to View Cherry Blossoms by the Sumida
River."
(SFC, 10/16/01, p.C1)
1888 Jul, Mount Bandai erupted and
left 461 people dead.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.A17)
1889 The first real constitution
was promulgated.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1889 Nintendo of Japan was founded
by the great-grandfather of President Hiroshi Yamauchi to produce
hand-painted Japanese flower cards. A book about Nintendo was later
written by David Sheff.
(Hem, 4/96, p.29)(SFC, 10/11/97, p.A19)
1889-1961 Soetsu Yanagi, Japanese artist. The
philosophically inclined aesthete and writer created the concept of
folk art and promoted its taste among the Japanese.
(SFC, 4/28/96, B-7)
1890 Jun 10, Sessue Hayakawa,
Japanese actor (Bridge on River Kwai, Hell to Eternity), was born.
(MC, 6/10/02)
1890 Oct 30, Emperor Meiji issued
the Imperial Rescript on Education to illustrate the moral principles
that each citizen was to follow.
(Econ, 1/22/05,
p.39)(www.danzan.com/HTML/ESSAYS/meiji.html)
1890 Nov 29, The Imperial Diet,
forerunner of Japan's national legislature, opened its first session,
four days after its members were summoned by Emperor Meiji.
(AP, 11/29/99)
1890 The Imperial Hotel opened as
a 3-story wooden Victorian that became a showcase for Western ways. A
2nd art deco version was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. A 3rd modern
version with towers was built in 1968.
(www.imperialhotel.co.jp)(SFEC, 12/5/99, p.T3)
1890's Cultured pearls were
developed in Japan.
(WSJ, 5/14/96, p.A-17)
1891 Oct 28, An earthquake struck
Mino-Owari, Japan and killed 7,300.
(MC, 10/28/01)
1891-1921 Japanese dishes imported the US during this
period were marked with only the word “Nippon.” After 1921 US law
required the name of the exporting country to be in English.
(SFC, 3/16/05, p.G4)
1893 Kokichi Mikimoto invented a
method of culturing pearls. He opened a pearl-growing farm to attract
tourist customers and hired ama (female pearl divers) to pretend to
dive for the cultured pearls.
(MT, Sum. '98, p.4)
1894 Jul 23, Japanese troops took
over the Korean imperial palace in Seoul.
(AP, 7/23/97)(HN, 7/23/98)
1894 Jul 25, Japanese forces sank
the British steamer Kowshing which was bringing Chinese reinforcements
to Korea.
(HN, 7/25/98)
1894 Aug 1, The First
Sino-Japanese War erupted, the result of a dispute over control of
Korea; Japan's army routed the Chinese.
(AP, 8/1/04)
1894 Sep 15, Japan defeated China
in the Battle of Ping Yang (Pyongyang).
(http://24.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CH/CHINKIANG.htm)
1894 A ship of the Tsar's navy
visited Tokyo on the occasion of the 25th wedding anniversary of
Emperor Meiji. It was the last Russian ship to visit until 1997.
(SFC, 6/28/97, p.A12)
1894-1895 Japan went to war against China.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1895 Apr 17, China and Japan
signed the peace treaty of Shimonoseki. This followed a war over
control of the Korean peninsula.
(HN, 4/17/98)(Econ, 1/15/05, Survey p.4)
1895 Apr 23, Russia, France, and
Germany forced Japan to return the Liaodong peninsula to China.
(HN, 4/23/99)
1895 May 8, China ceded Taiwan to
Japan under the Apr 17 Treaty of Shimonoseki. This followed a war over
control of the Korean peninsula.
(HN, 5/8/98)(Econ, 1/15/05, Survey p.4)
1895 The Heian Shrine was built in
Kyoto, Japan as a 2/3 replica of the Imperial Palace. It was built to
commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of Kyoto and exhibits regal Heian
architecture.
(Hem., 2/96, p.57)
1895 Japan’s Nara National Museum
was established.
(Hem, 9/04, p.46)
1895 Japan began administering
Senkaku Island between Okinawa and Taiwan. The US took over after WW II
but returned them to Japan in 1972.
(SFEC, 10/8/96, A8)
1896 Jun 15, The Meiji Sanriku
tsunami struck Japan and caused some 27,000 deaths.
(CW, Spring ‘99,
p.28)(http://eklektikos.org/Science.html)
1897 Japan’s Kyoto National Museum
was established.
(Hem, 9/04, p.46)
1898 Oct 17, Shinichi Suzuki
(d.1998), music teacher, was born.
(MC, 10/17/01)
1898 Lafcadio Hearn, renowned
writer on Japan, authored “Exotics and Retrospective.” One chapter on
insect musicians listed prices for the 12 most popular singing insects.
(NH, 3/1/04, p.70)
1899 Jun 11, Yasonari Kawabata
(d.1972), Japanese novelist (Thousand Cranes)(Nobel 1968), was born in
Osaka.
(SC, 6/11/02)
1899 Japan passed a statute that
discriminated against the northern Ainu people. It described them as
aborigines in need of assimilation. The law was repealed in 1997.
(SFC, 5/9/97, p.E3)(Econ, 7/12/08, p.54)
1900 Jul, Mount Adatara erupted
and left 72 people dead.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.A17)
1901 Mar 17, Eisaku Sato, premier
of Japan (Nobel 1974), was born.
(MC, 3/17/02)
1901 Apr 29, Hirohito, emperor of
Japan (1926-1989), was born.
(HN, 4/29/99)(MC, 4/29/02)
1901 Nov 25, Japanese Prince Ito
arrived in Russia to seek concessions in Korea.
(HN, 11/25/98)
1902 cMar 19, Japan formed an
alliance with England.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1902 Mar 20, France and Russia
acknowledged the Anglo-Japanese alliance, but asserted their right to
protect their interests in China and Korea.
(HN, 3/20/98)
1902 Aug, Mount Izu-Torishima
erupted and left 125 people dead.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.A17)
1904 Jan 6, A Japanese railway in
Korea refused to transport Russian troops.
(HN, 1/6/99)
1904 Feb 4, Russia offered Korea
to Japan and defended its right to occupy Manchuria.
(HN, 2/4/99)
1904 Feb 6, Japan's foreign
minister severed all ties with Russia, citing delaying tactics in
negotiations over Manchuria.
(HN, 2/6/99)
1904 Feb 8, The Russo-Japanese War
began. In a surprise attack at Port Arthur, Korea, the Japanese
disabled seven Russian warships. During the war, Russia suffered a
series of stunning defeats to Japan; the fighting ended with an
agreement mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt, who went on to win
the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
(HN, 2/7/97)(AP, 2/8/04)
1904 Feb 9, Japanese troops landed
near Seoul, Korea, after disabling two Russian cruisers.
(HN, 2/9/97)
1904 Feb 10, Russia and Japan
declared war on each other.
(HN, 2/10/97)
1904 Feb 23, Japan guaranteed
Korean sovereignty in exchange for military assistance.
(HN, 2/23/98)
1904 Mar 7, The Japanese bombed
the Russian town of Vladivostok.
(HN, 3/7/98)
1904 Mar 15, Three hundred
Russians were killed as the Japanese shelled Port Arthur in Korea.
(HN, 3/15/98)
1904 Mar 24, Vice Adm. Tojo sank
seven Russian ships as the Japanese strengthened their blockade of Port
Arthur.
(HN, 3/24/98)
1904 Aug 6, The Japanese army in
Korea surrounded a Russian army retreating to Manchuria.
(HN, 8/6/98)
1904 Aug 24, In the field battle
at Liaoyang, China, some 200,000 Japanese faced 150,000 Russians. The
Japanese defeated the Russians in October.
(MC, 8/24/02)(PC, 1992, p.654)
1904 Sep 19, Gen. Nogi assaulted
Port Arthur: 16,000 Japanese casualties.
(MC, 9/19/01)
1904 Sep 26, Lafcadio Hearn
(b.1850), Greece-born, Irish-American travel writer, died in Japan. He
moved to Japan in 1890 and is especially well-known for his collections
of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as “Kwaidan: Stories and
Studies of Strange Things” (1904). In 2009 Christopher Benfey edited
“Lafcadio Hearn: American Writings.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafcadio_Hearn)
1904 Nov 28, The pivotal capture
by the Japanese of 203 Meter Hill overlooking Port Arthur occurred
during the bloodiest battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. The
battle of November 28-December 5, 1904, resulted in Japanese forces
taking the strategic 203 Meter Hill, allowing them to bombard and sink
the Russian fleet in the harbor at Port Arthur. Russia
surrendered the city of Port Arthur to Japan on January 1, 1905.
(HNQ, 9/20/99)
1904 Dec 5, Japanese destroyed
Russian fleet at Port Arthur in Korea.
(HN, 12/5/98)
1904 Dec 16, Japanese warships
quit Port Arthur in order to cut off the Russian Baltic fleet's advance.
(HN, 12/16/98)
1904 In Japan Nippon Toki Kaisha
Ltd. began manufacturing Noritake porcelain.
(SFC, 3/3/99, Z1 p.4)(SFC, 11/9/05, p.G9)
1904-1905 Japan went to war against Russia.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1905 Jan 2, After a six-month
siege, Russians surrendered Port Arthur to the Japanese.
(HN, 1/2/99)
1905 Jan 27, Russian General
Kuropatkin took the offensive in Manchuria. The Japanese under General
Oyama suffered heavy casualties.
(HN, 1/27/99)
1905 Feb 21, The Mukden campaign
of the Russo-Japanese War, began. In one of the largest battles ever
fought up to that time, some 750,000 Japanese and Russian soldiers
engaged in the battle for Mukden in the Russo-Japanese War. The 3-week
battle pitted 400,000 Japanese and 350,000 Russians stretched over a
front extending more than 90 miles. More than 100,000 were left dead or
injured as the Russians began a retreat toward Harbin on March 9.
(HN, 2/21/98)(HNQ, 4/23/99)
1905 Feb 22, Japan 1st claimed the
volcanic islets they called Takeshima, located between Japan and Korea,
where they are known as Tokdo (Dokdo). Japan illegally incorporated
Dokdo as its territory through an administrative measure of one of its
prefectures.
(Econ, 3/26/05, p.42)(Econ, 4/9/05, p.14)
1905 Feb 27, Japanese pushed
Russians back in Manchuria, and cross the Sha River.
(HN, 2/27/98)
1905 Mar 10, Japanese Army
captured Mukden, later Shenyang, China.
(MC, 3/10/02)
1905 Apr 16, A Japanese baseball
team from Waseda Univ. in Tokyo came to the West Coast for a 3-month
26-game tour. They played their opening game against Stanford and lost
9-1. Their manager, Prof. Iso Abe, is called the "father of modern
baseball in Japan." They won 9 of their 26 games.
(SFC, 10/31/96, p.C1)
1905 May 27, Japanese fleet
destroyed the Russian East Sea fleet in Straits of Tushima. [see May 28]
(MC, 5/27/02)
1905 May 28, A Japanese fleet
under Adm. Heihachiro Togo defeated a Russian fleet under Adm. Zinovi
Petrovich Rozhestvensky in the Battle of Tsushima. The Russian fleet
lost 22 ships out of 38 to the Japanese in the Battle of Tsushima
Straits. In 2002 Constantine Pleshakov authored "The Tsar’s Last
Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima."
(WSJ, 9/6/00, p.A27)(ON, 5/04, p.9)
1905 Jun 8, US Pres. Theodore
Roosevelt offered to act as a mediator in the Russo-Japanese War.
(AP, 6/8/05)
1905 Jun 10, Japan and Russia
agreed to peace talks brokered by President Theodore Roosevelt.
(HN, 6/10/98)
1905 Jul 29, US Secretary of War
William Howard Taft, under the approval of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt,
and PM of Japan Katsura Taro signed the Taft-Katsura Agreement, which
reinforced American and Japanese influence and spelled doom for Korean
sovereignty. Japan agreed not to interfere in the ongoing US rape of
the Philippines in return for the US agreement not to interfere with
Japan’s forthcoming rape of Korea.
(AH, 10/07,
p.56)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft-Katsura_Agreement)
1905 Sep 5, The Russian-Japanese
War ended as representatives of the combating empires, meeting in New
Hampshire, signed the Treaty of Portsmouth. Japan achieved virtually
all of its original war aims.
(AP, 9/5/97)(HN, 9/5/98)
1905 Japan imposed protectorate
status on Korea. Hirobumi Ito was installed in Seoul as resident
general and took charge of all governmental affairs. Japan named Durham
White Stevens as the foreign advisor to Kojong.
(AH, 10/07, p.56)
1906 Oct 11, The San Francisco
school board ordered the segregation of Oriental schoolchildren,
inciting Japanese outrage. To counter local prejudice David Starr
Jordan, Stanford’s 1st president, David Pike Bowie, a San Mateo
Japanophile, and Japanese General Consul Kisaburo Ueno soon formed a
chapter of the Japan Society to foster bilateral understanding. The
order was later rescinded at the behest of President Theodore
Roosevelt, who promised to curb future Japanese immigration to the
United States.
(HN, 10/11/98)(SFC, 10/29/05, p.B7)(AP, 10/11/06)
1906 Nov 17, Soichiro Honda,
founder and CEO of Honda Motor Co., was born in Japan.
(MC, 11/17/01)
1907 Jan 23, Hediki Yukawa,
Japanese physicist (Nobel 1949), was born.
(MC, 1/23/02)
1907 Feb 18, In SF according to an
agreement between Mayor Schmidt, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt and the SF
School Board, Japanese children under 16 were to be admitted to the
city’s public schools, skilled and unskilled laborers from Japan were
to be banned from entering the US and American laborers were to be
excluded from Japan.
(SSFC, 2/18/07, DB p.58)
1907 Mar 14, President Theodore
Roosevelt signed an executive order designed to prevent Japanese
laborers from immigrating to the United States as part of a
"gentlemen's agreement" with Japan.
(AP, 3/14/07)
1907 Mar 22, Russians troops
completed the evacuation of Manchuria in the face of advancing Japanese
forces.
(HN, 3/22/97)(AP, 3/22/99)
1907 In Korea the Righteous Army
under the command of Yi In-yeong massed 10,000 troops to liberate Seoul
and defeat the Japanese. The Army came within 12 km of Seoul but could
not withstand the Japanese counter-offensive. The Righteous Army was no
match for two infantry divisions of 20,000 Japanese soldiers backed by
warships moored near Inchon. The doomed revolt ultimately left some
14,000 Koreans dead as well as 160 Japanese.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_army)(AH,
10/07, p.57)
1908 Feb 24, Japan officially
agreed to restrict immigration to the U.S.
(HN, 2/24/98)
1908 Mar 16 The Chinese released
the Japanese steamship Tatsu Maru.
(HN, 3/16/98)
1908 Mar 23, In San Francisco
Durham White Stevens (56), Japan’s foreign advisor to Korea, was shot
by a Korean nationalist. Stevens died 2 days later from internal
injuries. Chang In Hwan and Chun Myung Un had attacked Stevens as he
approached the ferry landing. Chun was released from prison in June,
1908, and fled the country. Chang was convicted of 2nd degree
manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was paroled after
10 years.
(AH, 10/07, p.54-58)
1908 Apr 5, Japanese Army reached
the Yalu River as the Russians retreated.
(HN, 5/5/97)
1908 Jun, Japanese immigration to
Brazil began when 781 Japanese arrived on the ship Kasato Maru. Nearly
800 Japanese set sail on the "Kasato Maru" ship from Kobe in search of
better living conditions and arrived at Santos Port only to find a
grueling life working on farmland.
(SFC, 7/4/00, p.A8)(AFP, 4/24/08)
1909 Oct 26, Hirobumi Ito
(b.1841), Japan’s resident general in Seoul, was gunned down in Harbin
in Russian-controlled Manchuria by Korean assassin Chang Ahn Gun.
(http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/INV_JED/ITO_HIROBUMI_PRINCE_1841_1909_.html)
1908 George Trumbull Ladd,
president of Yale Univ., authored “In Korea with Marquis Ito.” Ladd
endorsed Japan’s protectorate status over Korea whose people he
described as hopelessly corrupt and incompetent.
(AH, 10/07, p.57)
1909 In the Kando convention Japan
gave China a chunk of Korean Manchuria in return for concessions.
(Econ, 3/31/07, SR p.8)
1909 Michio Suzuki started a loom
works. The company made its first motorcycle in 1954.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1910 Jan 21, Japan rejected the
American proposal to neutralize ownership of the Manchurian Railway.
(HN, 1/21/99)
1910 Mar 23, Akira Kurosawa,
Japanese film director (Living, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai), was born
in Tokyo, Japan.
(HN, 3/23/01)(SS, 3/23/02)
1910 Jun 24, The Japanese army
invaded Korea.
(HN, 6/24/98)
1910 Aug 22, Japan annexed Korea
following 5 years as a protectorate and ruled for 35 years.
(WSJ, 10/14/95, p.A-1)(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(AP,
8/22/06)
1910 Kida Sadakichi wrote "The
Teaching of National History."
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.34)
1910 Namikawa Sosuke (b.1847), top
Japanese cloisonné artist, died.
(WSJ, 9/24/04,
p.W10)(www.widener.edu/?pageId=436&vobId=1040&pm=566)
1910-1945 Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula.
(SFC, 4/22/98, p.A11)
1911 The Tokyo Philharmonic
Orchestra (To-Phil) was formed.
(WSJ, 7/19/00, p.A1)
1912 Mar 27, The first cherry
blossom trees, a gift from Japan, were planted in Washington, D.C.
First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the
Japanese ambassador, planted two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern
bank of the Potomac Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial. The event
was held in celebration of a gift, by the Japanese government, of 3,020
trees to the US government for planting along Washington's Potomac
River.
(HN, 3/27/98)
1912 Jul 30, Emperor Meiji died.
Under Meiji the country had moved from a preindustrial state to a
leading modern power. His son Yoshihito followed his father to the
throne. With him the Meiji era ended officially and the Taisho era
began.
(WSJ, 8/30/00,
p.A24)(www.artelino.com/articles/emperor_meiji.asp)
1912 Sep 28, The SS Kichemaru
disappeared in a storm off the Japanese coast and 1,000 died.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1912 The Sumitomo Bank was founded.
(WSJ, 10/15/99, p.A10)
1912-1926 The Taisho Period was named after the
reign of Emperor Taisho, the father of Hirohito.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(WSJ, 1/29/02, p.A18)
1914 Jan, Mount Sakurajima erupted
and left 58 people dead.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.A17)
1914 Aug 23, The Emperor of Japan
sided with the Allies and declared war on Germany in World War I.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)(AP, 8/23/97)(HN, 8/23/98)
1914 Nov 7, Japan attacked a
German concession on Chinese peninsula of Shanghai.
(MC, 11/7/01)
1914 In western Japan the
Takarazuka Revue, a female musical theater troupe, was founded.
(SFEC, 9/8/96, DB p.55)
1914-1996 Masao Maruyama, prof. of political science
at the Univ. of Tokyo (1950-1971). He formed the pillar of postwar
anti-establishment thought.
(SFC, 8/20/96, p.A18)
1915 Jan 15, Japan claimed
economic control of China.
(MC, 1/15/02)
1915 Japan demanded major
concessions from China.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1916 Jan 3, Three armored Japanese
cruisers were ordered to guard the Suez Canal.
(HN, 1/3/99)
1917 Feb 28, AP reported that
Mexico and Japan would ally with Germany if US enters WW I.
(MC, 2/28/02)
1917 Nov 2, In the
Lansing-Ishii Agreement the US recognized Japan's privileges in China.
US Sec. of State Robert Lansing and Viscount Ishii Kikujiro of Japan, a
special envoy to Washington, worked to resolve tensions and conflicts
between Japan and the US during WW I. The Lansing-Ishii Agreement was
formally annulled in April 1923. Japan and the U.S. continued to
disagree on their respective roles in the Pacific.
(www.fact-index.com/l/la/lansing_ishii_agreement.html)
1917 In Japan the Nikon
Corporation was established.
(PR, Neopath Corp., 7/2/96)
1917 The 2 main soy sauce families
of Noda, the Mogi and Takanashi, banded together to form Noda Shoyu Co.
Ltd. and became the premier soy sauce maker in Japan. In 1980 the
company was renamed Kikkoman.
(SFC, 1/3/00, p.B7)
1917 In Japan the Toyo Toki
(Oriental Ceramic) company was founded and introduced Western-style
sit-down lavatories to Japan. The company, later know as Toto, grew to
become one of the world’s biggest bathroom and kitchen ceramics
companies in the world.
(Econ, 7/25/09, p.66)
1918 Jul 12, A Japanese battleship
exploded in the Bay of Tokayama and some 500 people were killed.
(MC, 7/12/02)
1918 Japan's first parliamentary
cabinet was formed.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1919 Mar 1, The Korean coalition
proclaimed their independence from Japan.
(HN, 3/1/98)
1919 May 4, Some 3,000 young
scholars from 13 colleges and universities rallied at Tiananmen Square
to protest the loss of Shandong province to the Japanese under the
Versailles Treaty at the Paris Peace Conference. German concessions in
China were bequeathed to Japan. Among the protestors were people who
helped form the Communist Party.
(SFC, 6/25/98, p.A8)(WSJ, 5/17/99, p.A21)(Econ,
5/3/08, p.13)
1919 Japan’s Mitsubishi Bank was
founded. In 1996 it joined with the Bank of Tokyo and in 2005 became
part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
(WSJ, 9/23/08, p.C1)
1920 Apr 5, Japanese forces landed
in Vladivostok.
(HN, 5/5/97)
1921 Jan 26, Akio Morita (d.1999),
CEO of Sony Corp., was born in Kasugaya, Japan.
(MC, 1/26/02)
1921 Nov 4, Takasji Hara, premier
of Japan, was murdered.
(MC, 11/4/01)
1921 Nov 25, Hirohito became
regent of Japan.
(HN, 11/25/98)
1921 US law required that the name
of exporting countries be marked in English on all imported wares.
Prior to this Japanese porcelain was marked “Nippon.”
(SFC, 7/20/05, p.G4)
1922 Feb 6, The Washington
Disarmament Conference came to an end with signature of final treaty
forbidding fortification of the Aleutian Islands for 14 years. The US,
UK, France, Italy & Japan signed the Washington naval arms
limitation.
(AP, 12/29/97)(HN, 2/6/99)(MC, 2/6/02)
1922 The Imperial Hotel, designed
by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in Tokyo. It withstood the 1923
earthquake.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, p.M6)
1923 Sep 1, The Japanese cities of
Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by the Great Kanto earthquake that
claimed 99,000-143,000 lives. The 7.9-8.3 quake off Tokyo's shoreline
killed some 99,300 people.
(AP,
9/1/97)(www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/faq/world.htm)
1923 Japan’s Norinchukin Bank was
set up as a quasi-public institution to manage the deposits of millions
of farmers, fisherman and forest workers. By 2006 it was Japan’s 4th
largest commercial bank with assets of $525 billion.
(Econ, 2/18/06, p.72)
1924 Feb 26, Noboru Takeshita,
Japanese PM (1987-89), was born.
(SC, 2/26/02)
1924 Jun 26, Crown Prince Hirohito
(22) married the daughter of Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni, Nagako (20).
(SFC, 6/17/00, p.A20)
1925 Mar 2, Japan's House of
Representatives recognized male suffrage.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1925 Mar 12, Leo Esaki, [Esaki
Reona], physicist (Tunnel effect-Nobel 1973), was born in Japan.
(MC, 3/12/02)
1925 The Nomura brokerage house
was established in Osaka, Japan. In 1927 it opened an office in NYC.
(WSJ, 6/8/06, p.C3)
1926 May, Mount Tokachidake
erupted and left 144 people dead.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.A17)
1926 Dec 25, Hirohito became
emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito (Emperor
Taisho) to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Hirohito was formally enthroned
almost two years later. This marked the beginning of the "bright peace"
or Showa Period (1926-1989).
(AP, 12/25/97)(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 216)
1926 Nozaki Nobuchika, Japanese
scholar, authored “Explanatory Notes on Auspicious Designs,” a work on
the symbolism of Chinese art.
(WSJ, 11/22/06, p.D8)
1926-1989 The Showa Period.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 216)
1927 Mar 7, Earthquake measuring 8
on Richter scale struck Tango, Japan.
(MC, 3/7/02)
1927 Nov, The US received 58
Japanese dolls sent by the Japanese government in exchange for 12,739
blue-eyed dolls sent by American children to the children of Japan.
(SFC, 7/24/97, p.A17)
1927 Goto Shu'ichi wrote "Japanese
Archaeology."
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.35)
1927 The Japan Sumo Association
(JSA) was founded.
(Econ, 2/16/08, p.50)
1927 Chio Uno (1898-1996)
scandalized Japanese society by cutting her hair short. In 1935 she
wrote "Confessions of Love" based on the many love affairs of painter
Seiji Togo. She also wrote "Ohan" and in 1936 founded Style, Japan’s
first fashion magazine. She was awarded a title by the emperor and
named a "person of cultural merit" in 1990.
(SFC, 6/11/96, p.A21)
1927 Japan's Imperial Aeronautics
Association launched a competition for a non-stop flight across the
Pacific Ocean. The Ashi Shimbun newspaper offered a $25,000 prize.
(ON, 1/03, p.10)
1927 Japan’s Nippon Trust Bank and
Mitsubishi Trust Bank were founded. They joined together in 2001 and in
2005 became part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
(WSJ, 9/23/08, p.C1)
1928 Nov 10, Japanese Emperor
Hirohito was enthroned, almost two years after his ascension.
(AP, 11/10/07)
1928 Nov 19, The 1st issue of Time
magazine featured Japanese Emperor Hirohito on cover.
(MC, 11/19/01)
1928 In 1928 the Japanese army
unilaterally instigated armed clashes in China's Manchuria region to
justify full-scale intervention.
(HN, 2/18/98)
1929 The Univ. of Mich. men's
baseball team under Fielding H. Yost (1871-1946) won 11 of 13 games on
its first tour of Japan and brought back a Japanese suit of armor as an
award from Meiji Univ.
(MT, Sum. '98, p.24)
1930 Apr 22, The United States,
Britain and Japan signed the London Naval Treaty, which regulated
submarine warfare and limited shipbuilding.
(AP, 4/22/97)
1930 Nov 14, Right-wing
militarists attempted to assassinate Japanese Premier Hamagushi.
(HN, 11/14/98)
1930 Nov 25, Earthquake killed 187
in Shizouka, Japan.
(HN, 11/25/98)
1930 Dec 14, US Customs agents in
San Francisco seized $56,000 worth of opium from the Japanese liner
Asama Maru as festivities marked the liner’s 1st year of trans-Pacific
service.
(SFC, 12/9/05, p.F6)
1930 The Soka Gakkai, Values
Creation Society, was founded on Buddhist principles. By 1999 the
organization was present in 8 million Japanese households.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.A25)
1930 Lt. Col. Kingoro Hashimoto
formed the Sakurakai (Cherry Society), dedicated to establishing a
military-controlled social structure in Japan. Consisting mostly of
midlevel officers, the Cherry Society planned a March 1931 coup d'etat
that was aborted because of internal disagreement. In 1937, Hashimoto
tried to trigger war with Britain by shelling a Royal Navy gunboat in
Chinese waters.
(HNQ, 1/5/01)
1930 Minoru Shirota, a Japanese
researcher, discovered Lactobacillus casei shirota.
(Econ Sp, 12/13/03, p.11)
1931 Feb 12, Japan's first
television broadcast was a baseball game.
(HN, 2/12/97)
1931 May 18, Japanese pilot Seiji
Yoshihara crashed his plane in the Pacific Ocean while trying to be the
first to cross the ocean nonstop. He was picked up seven hours later by
a passing ship.
(HN, 5/18/99)
1931 Aug, Clyde Panghorn and Hugh
Herndon landed at Japan's Tachikawa Airport and were arraigned for
landing illegally. They paid fines of $1,050 apiece to be released.
(ON, 1/03, p.10)
1931 Sep 18-1931 Sep 19, The
Mukden Incident was initiated by the Japanese Kwangtung Army in Mukden.
It involved an explosion along the Japanese-controlled South Manchurian
Railway. It was soon followed by the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and
the eventual establishment of the Japanese-dominated state of
Manchukuo. The neutrality of the area, and the ability of Japan to
defend its colony in Korea, was threatened in the 1920s by efforts at
unification of China. Within three months Japanese troops had spread
out throughout Manchuria. The occupation ended at the conclusion of the
Second World War in 1945.
(HNQ, 11/27/98)
1931 Sep 28, In Peking some
200,000 demonstrators demanded a declaration of war on Japan.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1931 Oct 4, Aerial circus star
Clyde Pangborn and playboy Hugh Herndon, Jr. set off in Miss Veedol to
complete the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean from
Sabishiro Beach in Misawa City, Japan. A young boy gave Panghorn 5
apples from Misawa City.
(ON, 1/03,
p.10)(www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7495)
1931 Oct 5, Clyde Pangborn and
Hugh Herndon, Jr. belly landed Miss Veedol, a Bellanca CH-200
monoplane, in Wenatchee, Wa., to complete the first nonstop flight
across the Pacific Ocean from Japan. They won a $25,000 prize from the
Japanese Ashi Shimbun newspaper. Panghorn sent apple cuttings from
Wenatchee's Richard Delicious apples to Japan which were soon
distributed across Japan.
(ON, 1/03,
p.10)(www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7495)
1931 Nov 20, Japan and China
rejected the League of Council terms for Manchuria at Geneva.
(HN, 11/20/98)
1931 Dec 9, Japanese army attacked
the Chinese province of Jehol.
(MC, 12/9/01)
1931 Ten years of comparative
peace ended when Japan attacked and seized Manchuria to ensure a
supply of natural resources. The Japanese army invaded Manchuria
without its own government's consent.
(TMC, 1994, p.1931)(SFC, 7/18/96, p.E6)(Jap. Enc.,
BLDM, p. 216)(SFC, 12/2/97, p.A22)(HN, 2/18/98)
1932 Jan 2, Japanese forces in
Manchuria set up a puppet government known as Manchukuo.
(HN, 1/2/99)
1932 Jan 28, The Japanese attacked
Shanghai, China, and declared martial law.
(HN, 1/28/99)
1932 Feb 20, Japanese troops
occupied Tunhua, China.
(MC, 2/20/02)
1932 May 15, Japan’s PM Tsuyoshi
Inukai (b.1855) and his family were assassinated by young right-wing
naval officers. His son Ken Inukai, watching a Sumo wrestling match
with Charlie Chaplin, survived.
(WSJ, 8/3/06, p.D5)
1932 Dec 8, Japan told the League
of Nations that it had no control over her designs in China.
(HN, 12/8/98)
1932 The Japanese silent film "I
was Born, But..." (Umarete wa Mita Keredo) was produced. It was
directed by Yasuhiro Ozu. Tow little boys rebel when they discover that
their father has to kowtow to his boss.
(SFEC, 10/4/98, DB p.50)
1932-1945 In 1994 Sheldon H. Harris (d.2002),
historian, authored the book: "Factories of Death: Japanese Biological
Warfare, 1932-1945, and the American Cover-Up."
(SFC, 9/9/02, p.A22)
1932-1968 The Chisso Corporation, located in Kumamoto
Japan, dumped an estimated 27 tons of mercury compounds into Minamata
Bay. The name Minamata Disease was coined in 1956 to identify villagers
suffering dizzy spells with troubles walking and speaking. Growing
numbers fell into convulsions, wasted away and died.
(www.american.edu/TED/MINAMATA.HTM)
1933 Jan 3, The Japanese took
Shuangyashan, China, killing 500 in the process.
(HN, 1/3/99)
1933 Jan 21, The League of Nations
rejected Japanese terms for settlement with China.
(HN, 1/21/99)
1933 Feb 17, The League of Nations
censured Japan in a worldwide broadcast. The rise of militaristic
nationalism led Japan down the road to Pearl Harbor and World War II.
(HN, 2/17/98)
1933 Feb 24, The League of Nations
told the Japanese to pull out of Manchuria.
(www.indiana.edu/~league/1933.htm)
1933 Mar 2, Most powerful
earthquake in 180 years hit Japan.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1933 Mar 27, Japan left the League
of Nations.
(www.indiana.edu/~league/1933.htm)
1933 Nov 29, Japan began the
persecution of communists.
(MC, 11/29/01)
1933 Dec 23, Akihito, emperor of
Japan (1989- ), was born.
(MC, 12/23/01)
1933 Dec 27, Stalin called Japan a
grave danger.
(HN, 12/27/98)
1933 Crown Prince Akihito was born.
(SFC, 6/17/00, p.A20)
1933 In Japan Kazuma Tateisi
founded the OMRON Corporation. By 2006 its automated control
technologies approached the level of human knowledge and judgement.
(Econ, 10/8/05, Survey p.2)(Econ, 12/24/05, p.54)
1933 Japan left the League of
Nations.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 216)
1933 Japan’s Sanwa Bank was
founded. In 2001 it joined with Tokai Bank Tokyo Trust Bank to form UFJ
Holdings. In 2005 it became part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
(WSJ, 9/23/08, p.C1)
1934 May 29, Heihachiro Tojo,
Japanese Admiral (Russian-Japanese War), died.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1934 Sep 21, A typhoon struck
Honshu Island, Japan, and killed 4,000.
(MC, 9/21/01)
1934 Nov 2, Babe Ruth began his
tour of Tokyo, Japan.
(MC, 11/2/01)
1934 Nov 23, U.S. and Britain
agreed on a 5-5-3 naval ratio with both countries allowed to build five
million tons of naval ships while Japan can only build three; Japan
denounced the treaty.
(HN, 11/23/98)
1934 Dec 6, American Ambassador
Davis said Japan was a grave security threat in the Pacific.
(HN, 12/6/98)
1934 Dec 29, Japan renounced the
Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
(AP, 12/29/97)
1934-1991 Shiro Kuramata, Japanese designer. His work
was marked by the use of disparate materials, the play of light and
solid, and a sense of the antic.
(WSJ, 9/17/97, p.A12)
1935 Jan 27, The League of Nations
majority favored depriving Japan of mandates.
(HN, 1/27/99)
1935 Jan 31, The Soviet premier
told Japan to get out of Manchuria.
(HN, 1/31/99)
1935 Mar 22, Russia sold the
Chinese Eastern Railway to Japan.
(HN, 3/22/97)
1935 Sep 1, Seiji Ozawa, conductor
(Boston Symphony Orchestra), was born in Hoten, Manchuria (now
Shenyang, Liaoning, China).
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Ozawa-Seiji.htm
(MC, 9/1/02)
1935 Nov 9, Japanese troops
invaded Shanghai, China.
(HN, 11/9/98)
1935 Chio Uno wrote "Confessions
of Love" based on the many love affairs of painter Seiji Togo. She also
wrote "Ohan."
(SFC, 6/11/96, p.A21)
1935 In Japan the Tsukji fish
market opened in Tokyo. It grew to become the largest fish market in
the world. In 2004 Ted Bestor authored “Tsukji: The Fish market at the
Center of the World.”
(Econ, 4/5/08, p.70)
1936 Jan 15, In London, Japan quit
all naval talks after being denied equality.
(HN, 1/15/99)
1936 Feb 26, Japanese military
troops marched into Tokyo to conduct a coup and assassinate political
leaders.
(HN, 2/26/99)(SC, 2/26/02)
1936 Feb 28, The Japanese Army
restored order in Tokyo and arrested officers involved in a coup.
(HN, 2/28/99)
1936 Mar 19, The USSR signed a
pact of assistance with Mongolia against Japan.
(HN, 3/19/98)
1936 May 21, In Japan police
arrested a Tokyo a geisha named Sada Abe (31), charging that she knifed
to death her unfaithful lover, Kichizo Ishida, and cut off his
genitals, which she carried around in her sash for 3 days before being
caught.
(SFEC,12/21/97, Z1 p.5)
1936 Nov 15, Nazi Germany and
Japan signed the Anti-Komintern pact.
(MC, 11/15/01)
1936 Nov 22, 1,200 were killed in
a battle between Japanese and Mongolians in China.
(HN, 11/22/98)
1936 Dec 12, Chang Hsueh-liang
(d.2001 at 101), a northern military commander (aka Zhang Xueliang),
kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek to force him into an alliance to repel
Japanese forces. The Xi’an incident coup ended after 2 weeks. The
incident led the Nationalists and the Communists to make peace so that
the two could form a united front against the increasing threat posed
by Japan. Chang was later court-martialed and sentenced to prison. He
was taken to Taiwan in 1949 and kept under house arrest.
(SFC, 10/16/01, p.B2)(Econ, 5/9/09,
p.86)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi%27an_Incident)
1936 Dec 12, Chinese Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek declared war on Japan.
(MC, 12/12/01)
1936 Chio Uno and founded Style,
Japan's first fashion magazine. She was awarded a title by the emperor
and named a "person of cultural merit" in 1990.
(SFC, 6/11/96, p.A21)
1936 Soetsu Yanagi founded the
Japan Folk Arts Museum in Tokyo.
(SFC, 4/28/96, B-7)
1937 Jul 7, A conflict between
troops of China and Japan came to be known as the Marco Polo Bridge
Incident. The incident occurred near the Marco Polo Bridge outside of
Beijing and eventually escalated into warfare between the two countries
and was the prelude to the Pacific side of World War II.
(HNQ, 9/22/99)
1937 Jul 15, Japanese attacked the
Marco Polo Bridge and invaded China.
(MC, 7/15/02)
1937 Jul 29, Ryutaro Hashimoto was
born.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A20)
1937 Jul 29, Japanese troops
occupied Peking and Tientsin. [see Aug 8]
(MC, 7/29/02)
1937 Aug 8, The Japanese Army
occupied Beijing, China.
(HN, 8/8/98)
1937 Aug 13, Japanese attacked
Shanghai.
(MC, 8/13/02)
1937 Aug 14, China declared war on
Japan.
(MC, 8/14/02)
1937 Aug 25, Japanese fleet
blockaded the Chinese coast.
(MC, 8/25/02)
1937 Sep 25, In China Lin Biao
masterminded the ambush and annihilation of more than 1,000 Japanese
troops, at Pingxiangguan pass in Shanxi province.
(AP, 7/16/07)
1937 Dec 1, Japan recognized
Spain's Franco govt.
(MC, 12/1/01)
1937 Dec 12, Japanese aircraft
sank the U.S. gunboat Panay on China's Yangtze River, during the battle
for Nanking in the Sino-Japanese War. Japan later apologized and paid
$2.2 million dollars in reparations.
(AP, 12/12/97)(MC, 12/12/01)
1937 Dec 13, The Japanese army
occupied Nanking, China. A group of Japanese soldiers forced their way
into the family home of Xia Shuqin (8) in Nanjing, and killed seven of
her family members. Xia and her 4-year-old sister were seriously
injured but escaped. According to Chinese media, a US missionary then
serving as the chairman of the International Commission of the Red
Cross in Nanjing filmed the killings of Xia's family members. In 2006 a
Chinese court has awarded Xia Shuqin $200,000 in compensation after
ruling in her favor against two Japanese historians, who claimed she
fabricated her account of the atrocity.
(HN, 12/13/98)(AP, 8/23/06)
1937 Dec 14, Japanese troops
conquered and plundered Nanjing. Japan established a puppet Chinese
government at Peking, now called Beijing.
(MC, 12/14/01)(AP, 12/14/02)
1937 Dec-Jan, John Rabe
(1882-1950), a German businessman for Siemens living in China, recorded
the 2-month terror of the Japanese "Rape of Nanking" in his diary. The
Japanese sacked and pillaged the city. They raped at least 20,000 women
and killed at least 50,000 people. Rabe established a neutral safe zone
for hundreds of thousands of Chinese refugees. Noncombatant deaths may
have reached 300,000. Reporter Tillman Durdin (d.1998 at 91) filed
reports for the New York times. Later Iris Chang wrote "The Rape of
Nanking."
(SFC, 12/13/96, p.B1)(SFEC, 2/22/98, Z1 p.6)(SFC,
7/10/98, p.D3)
1937 Dec-Feb, In the Japanese
"Rape of Nanjing" more than 200,000 people were killed. Japanese
soldiers raped and killed tens of thousands of Chinese women during
their invasion of China. [photo from Nanjing] In 1997 Iris Chang (29)
published "The Rape of Nanking: the Forgotten Holocaust of world War
II." The largest execution of prisoners took place north of Nanking
near Mufu Mountain where 57,000 civilians and soldiers were gunned down.
(WSJ,2/6/97,p.A14)(SFEC, 12/1/96, p.C4)(WSJ,
12/29/97, p.A9)(SFEC, 7/26/98, Z1 p.1,4)
1937 Korean guerrillas allegedly
led by Kim Il Sung clashed with Japanese colonizer in the Battle of
Bocheonbo.
(WSJ, 1/14/03, p.A10)
1938 Feb 12, Japan refused to
reveal naval data requested by the U.S. and Britain. The rise of
militaristic nationalism led Japan down the road to Pearl Harbor and
World War II.
(HN, 2/12/97)
1938 Feb 23, Twelve Chinese
fighter planes dropped bombs on Japan. The China Air Task Force was a
scrappy but beleaguered fill-in that fought both the Japanese and
supplied shortcomings until the Fourteenth Air Force was formed.
(HN, 2/23/98)
1938 Jun 17, Japan declared war on
China.
(MC, 6/17/02)
1938 Jul 16, Tokugawa Soyeshima
sent a telegram to the Olympic Committee saying that Japan would not be
able to host the 1940 Winter Olympics due to fighting with China.
(WSJ, 2/8/02, p.A1)
1938 Sep 27, League of Nations
declared Japan the aggressor against China.
(MC, 9/27/01)
1938 Oct 21, Japanese troops
occupied Canton.
(WUD, 1994, p.1682)(MC, 10/21/01)
1938 Oct 25, Hankow,
temporary capital of China, fell to the Japanese. The Chinese again
moved their capital, this time to Chungking in the mountains above the
Yangtze River.
(WUD, 1994, p.1682)(DoD, 1999, p.452)
1938 U.S. War Plan Orange-3 was a
contingency plan for a war in which the U.S. faced Japan as its
sole enemy. The plan was one of the "color" war plans for projected
conflicts in which the U.S. engaged a single enemy at one time. The
plan originated in the early 1900s and underwent numerous revisions,
with War Plan Orange-3 completed in 1938. It was based on the premise
of a Japanese surprise attack and envisioned a primarily naval war.
Elements of the Orange Plans were incorporated in the later Rainbow war
plans.
(HNQ, 4/19/00)
1939 Feb 10, Japan occupied the
Chinese island of Hainan located off the coast of French Indochina
(modern day Vietnam).
(HN, 2/10/97)
1939 Feb 24, Hungary signed an
anti-Communist pact with Italy, Germany and Japan.
(HN, 2/24/98)
1939 Mar 31, Britain and France
agreed to support Poland if Germany threatened to invade. Seven French
islands were annexed by Japan.
(HN, 3/31/98)
1939 Aug 20, Russian offensive
under Gen. Zhukov against Jap invasion in Mongolia.
(MC, 8/20/02)
1939 Aug 30, Isoroku Yamamoto was
appointed supreme commander of the Japanese fleet.
(MC, 8/30/01)
1939 Aug 31, Japanese invasion
army was driven out of Mongolia.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1939 Sep 22, Junko Tabei, Japan,
the 1st woman to climb Mount Everest, was born.
(MC, 9/22/01)
1939 The Japanese film "The Story
of the Last Chrysanthemums" by Kenji Mizoguchi was produced.
(SFEC, 9/29/96, DB p.63)
1940 Mar 30, The Japanese set up a
puppet government called Manchuko in Nanking, China.
(HN, 3/30/98)
1940 Apr 22, Rear Adm. Joseph
Taussig testified before US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war
with Japan is inevitable.
(MC, 4/22/02)
1940 Jul,
Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch diplomat, and Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese
diplomat, worked together to save some 2,000 thousand Polish Jews, who
had fled to Lithuania by issuing them visas for Japan, China and the
Dutch colonies in South America. Zwartendijk wrote out the so called
Curacao visas, while Sugihara issued the transit visas. The Sugihara
family was later captured by the Russians and placed in a concentration
camp for 1 1/2 years.
(SFC, 9/7/96, p.A13)(SFC, 9/9/96,
p.A16)(www.remember.org/witness/righteous.html)
1940 Jul, Mount Mijakejima erupted
and left 11 people dead.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.A17)
1940 Aug 1, The idea of the
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was formally announced by
Japan’s Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke, in a press interview, but had
already existed in various forms for many years. Japan urged the
nations of the region to unite in one economic sphere, ousting the
colonial powers and enjoying economic prosperity together. The concept
was used to justify Japan's seizure of raw materials from throughout
Southeast Asia to further its drive for economic, political and
military domination of East Asia. The Sphere was intended to include,
in addition to Japan, China, Manchukuo, Southeast Asia and the Pacific
mandates islands.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_East_Asia_Co-prosperity_Sphere)(HNQ,
2/8/00)(Econ,
4/11/09, p.43)
1940 Aug 30, Senpo Chinne
Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat in Lithuania, received orders from
Japan to stop issuing visas immediately. He disobeyed the order and
continued issuing visas until the end of the month when the consulate
closed. In all Sugihara issued visas to some 3,500 Jewish refugees.
(SFC, 9/7/96, p.A13)(SFC, 9/9/96, p.A16)
1940 Aug, US Army cryptoanalysts
under William F. Friedman succeeded in breaking Japan's top secret
Purple Code, which was used for diplomatic communications.
(WSJ, 12/7/99, p.A24)
1940 Sep 26, Japanese troops
attacked French Indochina.
(MC, 9/26/01)
1940 Sep 27, Nazi-Germany, Italy
& Japan signed a formal alliance called Tripartite Pact, a 10 year
military and economic alliance strengthening the Axis alliance.
(MC, 9/27/01)
1940 Japanese warplanes dropped
plague-infected fleas over southwest China. In 2001 Chinese doctors
testified in a Tokyo trial and said at least 109 people died as a
result. In 2002 a symposium of historians reported that the Japanese
killed at least 440,000 Chinese in the 1930s and 1940s by dropping
disease carrying fleas and cholera-coated flies from planes.
(WSJ, 1/25/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/22/07, p.B12)
1940-1941 Japan extended war into Southeast Asia.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 216)
Go to 1941