Yayoi Culture

ca 300 BC Yayoi Culture emerges in northern Kyushu with the introduction of wet-rice cultivation from the Korean peninsula.
ca 1 AD Japan mentioned in Chinese historical records as the land of WA, composed of a number of states (WEI ZHI (Wei chih)).
57 King of the state of Na (NAKOKU) in Wa offers tribute to EmperorGuangwu of the Chinese Later Han dynasty (25-220) and is awarded a seal in return (KAN NO WA NO NA NO KOKU O NO IN).
ca 180 The various states of WA join in a league under the head ship of HIMIKO, queen of YAMATAI.
239 HIMIKO, queen of YAMATAI, sends an envoy to the kingdom of Wei in China, receiving from Emperor Ming a gold seal and the title qin wei wowang (J: shingi wao; WA ruler friendly to Wei).

Kofun period(ca300-710)

350 By this time the YAMATO COURT has been established in what is now Nara Prefecture.
372 Chogo, king of PAEKCHE in Korea, sends an emissary to WA to present a seven-pronged sword(SHICHICHITO) now held by the ISONOKAMI SHIRINE in Nara Prefecture.
421 WA ruler San dispatches an embassy to the kingdom of the Chinese Liu-Song dynasty(420-479); this makes the beginning of the era of the FIVE KINGS OF WA, who send emissaries bearing tribute to Liu-Song- and Liang-dynasty (502-557) emperors.
527 Rebellion by Iwai, governor of the province of Tsukushi, Kyusyu(527-528); this is the first recorded rebellion against the YAMATO COURT
552 Traditional date of introduction of BUDDHISM to Japan, when Buddhist images and sutras are sent from Korea by King Song of PAEKCHE. An earlier date, 538, is assigned to this event by many scholars.
587 Factions from for and against the recognition of Buddhism; SOGA NO UMAKO, supported by UMAYADO no Miko(later Prince SHOTOKU), kills MONONOBE NO MORIYA, leader of the anti-Buddhist faction, and establishes the SOGA FAMILY's dominance over the court.
592 SOGA NO UMAKO engineers the assassination of Emperor Sushun, whose accession he had arranged.
593 Prince SHOTOKU appointed regent by Empress SUIKO.
600 First embassy to Sui-dynasty(589-618) China dispatched.
604 KAN'I JUNIKAI system of court ranks instituted. Prince SHOTOKU promulgates SEVENTEEN-ARTICLE CONSTITUTION.
607 ONO NO IMOKO appointed leader of the second embassy to Sui China.Construction of the Buddhist temple HORYU-JI completed
620 Prince SHOTOKU and SOGA NO UMAKO said to have compiled the histories TENNOKI AND KOKKI, no longer extant.
630 First embassy to Tang-dynasty(618-907) China dispatched.
645 Prince NAKA no Oe(later Emperor TENJI) and Nakatomi no Kamatari (later FUJIWARA NO KAMATARI) destroy the SOGA FAMILY and initiate the TAIKA REFORM.First year of the Taika era; use of era names(NENGO) instituted.
663 Japanese forces sent to aid the Korean kingdom of PAEKCHE are defeated in the Battle of HAKUSUKIE off the southwestern coast of the Korean peninsula by a Tang Chinese fleet allied with the Korean kingdom of SILLA.
667 Imperial palace OTSU NO MIYA established by Prince Naka no Oe (later Emperor TENJI) on the southwestern shore of Lake Biwa. Capital until 672.
668 Unification of Korea by the kingdom of SILLA spurs immigration to Japan by refugees from PAEKCHE and KOGURYO(KIKAJIN).
672 Prince Oama(later Emperor TEMMU) usurps the throne from his nephew and designated heir Prince Otomo(JINSHIN DISTURBANCE); establishes residence at ASUKA KIYOMIHARA NO MIYA.
684 System of eight cognomens(YAKUSA NO KABANE) instituted, under which members of lineage groups(UJI) are assigned titles of rank, forming a social pyramid with the emperor at its apex.
694 Capital city FUJIWARA KYO established. Capital until 710.
701 Compilation of the TAIHO CODE of penal and administrative laws completed; becomes effective the following year (RITSURYO SYSTEM).
708 Minting of the WADO KAIHO initiated; it is the first coinage minted in Japan.

Nara Period (710 - 794)

710 Capital city HEIJO-KYO (NARA) established. Capital until 784.
712 Compilation of the historical narrative KOJIKI, Japan's oldest extant chronicle, is completed by OW NO YASUMARO.
720 Historical narrative NIHON SHOKI(also known as the Nohongi) completed.
723 SANZE ISSHIN NO HO put into effect; this marks the first government recognition of private ownership of reclaimed lands, which had been prohibited under the HANDEN SHUJI SYSTEM.
733 Regional gazetteer Izumo Fudoki completed.
741 Emperor SHOMU decrees construction of two state temples in each province(KOKUBUN-JI and KOKUBUN-NIJI).
743 KONDEN EISEI SHIZAI HO promulgated; recognizing the permanent privatization of reclaimed lands, this law lays the legal basis for the emergence of the landed estates called SHOEN.Construction of a huge Buddha image(DAIBUTSU) at the temple TODAI-JI initiated by imperial decree; it is completed in 752.
751 KAIFUSO compiled; it is the oldest extant collection of Chinese poetry by Japanese poets.
754 Buddhist priest Jianzhen(GANJIN) arrives in Japan from China.
756 Empress KOMYO donates to the temple TODAI-JI some 600 valuable objects used by her late husband Emperor SHOMU and his court; more than 100 of these objects become the core of the SHOSOIN treasure house collection.
759 GANJIN founds the temple Toshodai-Ji.The MANYOSHU, the oldest extant anthology of Japanese poetry, is completed around this time.
784 Capital moved to NAGAOKA-KYO. Capital until 794.
788 SAICHO founder of the Japanese TENDAI SECT of Buddhism, establishes the temple ENRYAKU-JI.

Heian Period (794 - 1185)

794 Capital moved to HEIAN-KYO(KYOTO). Capital until 1868.
810 KUSUKO INCIDENT: the Hokke branch of the FUJIWARA FAMILY gains political ascendancy at the imperial court.
823 KUKAI, founder of the SHINGON SECT of Buddhism, appointed abbot of TO-JI, which becomes the sect's head temple.
866 OTEMMON CONSPIRACY: FUJIWARA FAMILY establishes himself as the first non-royal holder of the office of regent and destroys political rivals.
903 Poet and political figure SUGAWARA NO MICHIZANE died in exile DAZAIFU; he had been falsely accused two years earlier of plotting against the throne.
905 The KOKINSHU, the first imperial anthology of WAKA verse, is completed.
935 KI NO TSURAYUKI composes the TOSA NIKKI, a poetical travel diary written in the native KANA syllabary.
938 The Buddhist monk KUYA, known for his popularization of PURE LAND BUDDHISM, begins chanting the NEMBUTSU in the streets of KYOTO.
974 Approximate date of completion of the KAGERO NIKKI, a court lady's diary.
985 The Buddhist monk GENSHIN completes the religious tract OJOYOSYU; the work contributes to the spread of PURE LAND BUDDHISM among the aristocracy
995 FUJIWARA NO MICHINAGA becomes head of the Fujiwara Family; golden age of its domination of the imperial court begins.
996 A portion of SEI SHONAGON's MAKURA NO SOSHI is now in circulation; this elegant and whimsical diary brings alive the social and aesthetic values of the court aristocracy.
1008 Entry in MURASAKI SHIKIBU's diary indicates that a substantial part of the TALE OF GENJI, her long novel depicting the lives of the aristocracy, has now been written.
1051 EARLIER NINE YEARS' WAR(1051-62) begins in the far north of Honshu against ABE NO YORITOKI and his sons.
1053 Construction of the Hou Ou Do(Phoenir Hall), dedicated to the Budder AMIDA, completed at the temple BYODOIN; JOCHO sculpts its main icon.
1059 Probable date of completion of the SARASHINA NIKKI, a court lady's diary.
1083 LATER THREE YEARS' WAR(1083-87) begins against the KIYOHIRA family in northeastern Honshu.
1087 Emperor SHIRAKAWA abdicates, establishes the system of "cloister government(INSEI)"
1156 HOGEN DISTURBANCE: rivalry between the TAIRA FAMILY and the MINAMOTO FAMILY for political power at court begins.
1160 HEIJI DISTURBANCE: influence of the TAIRA FAMILY over the imperial court established.
1175 HONEN begins to preach in Kyoto and founds the JODO SECT of Buddhism.
1180 TAIRA NO KIYOMORI's grandson accedes as Emperor ANTOKU.MINAMOTO NO YORIMASA, MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO and MINAMOTO NO TAIRA-MINAMOTO WAR begins.
1183 MINAMOTO NO YOSHINAKA defeats the TAIRA army and enter Kyoto; TAIRA forces retreat to southwestern Honshu.

Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333)

1185 MINAMOTO NO YOSHITSUNE annihilates the TAIRA army in the Battle of DANNOURA; his brother MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO is now the most powerful figure in Japan.MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO received from the imperial court the right to appoint provincial constables(SHUGO) and estate stewards(JITO), consolidating and extending nationwide the warrior governmental organization (later known as the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE) that he had established at KAMAKURA in 1180
1189 MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO destroys the OSHU FUJIWARA FAMILY, gains control over northern Japan.
1191 EISAI, the founder of the RINZAI SECT of Zen Buddhism in Japan, returns from four years of study in China and begins to advocate Chinese Zen teachings in Japan.
1192 MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO appointed SHOGUN by Emperor GOTOBA.
1199 MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO dies; HOJO FAMILY achieves control of the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE.
1203 HOJO FAMILY assumes the office of shogunal regent(SHIKKEN).
1205 The SHIN KOKINSHU, the most important of the imperial anthologies of WAKA poetry after the KOKINSHU, is submitted to the throne.
1212 KAMO NO CHOMEI completes his master work, the contemplative essay HOJOKI.
1218 Early versions of the HEIKE MONOGATARI in existence by about this time.
1219 MINAMOTO NO SANETOMO assassinated, ending the line of Minamoto shoguns. Members of the HOJO FAMILY continue to rule as regents for a series of figurehead shoguns.
1221 JOKYU DISTURBANCE: abdicated emperors GOTOBA and JUNTOKU sent into exile by the shogunate.
1224 SHINRAN thought to have completed the earliest version of his major work, the KYOGYOSHINSYO; this event is considered to mark his founding of the JODO SHIN SECT of Buddhism.
1226 Government office HYOJOSHU established by shogunal regent HOJO YASUTOKI; this institutes government by council.
1231 DOGEN, the founder of the SODO SECT of Zen Buddhism in Japan, returns from China and begins to advocate ZAZEN in Japan.
1232 GOSEIBAI SHIKIMOKU promulgated; it is the first codification of warrior house law.
1242 Emperor SHIJO dies without an heir, and the shogunate intercedes to forces the accession of Emperor GOSAGA; GOSAGA's princes, who later become the emperors GOFUKAKUSA and KAMEYAMA, initiate the succession dispute that culminates in 1337 in the establishment of the NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN COURTS.
1252 Construction of the Kamakura Daibutsu, a giant seated image of the Buddha Amida, begins at the temple Kotokuin in Kamakura.
1253 NICHIREN establishes the NICHIREN SECT of Buddhism.
1274 First of the MONGOL INVASIONS OF JAPAN.
1281 Second of the MONGOL INVASIONS OF JAPAN.
1297 TOKUSEI decree issued by the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE: debts canceled to protect shogunal retainers from the alienation of their lands to creditors.
1318 Emperor GODAIGO ascends the throne.
1324 SHOCHU CONSPIRACY, led by Emperor GODAIGO against the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE, fails.
1330 YOSHIDA KENKO completes his master work, the collection of essays TSUREZUREGUSA, around this time.
1331 GENKO INCIDENT: Emperor GODAIGO fails a second time to wrest power from the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE; he is exiled to the island of Oki the following year.

Muromachi Period (1333 - 1568)

1333 KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE collapses; power restored to Emperor GODAIGO. (KEMMU RESTORATION)
1335 NAKASENDAI INCIDENT: the warrior power rises against the court noble organization.ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI turns against Emperor GODAIGO.
1336 Battle of MINATOGAWA: ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI defeats the imperial loyalist armies of NITTA YOSHISADA and KUSUNOKI MASASHIGE and enters Kyoto; TAKAUJI forces Emperor GODAIGO to relinquish the IMPERIAL REGALIA to Prince Toyohito, installs the latter as emperor KOMYO, and confines GODAIGO at the Kazan Palace.The KEMMU SHIKIMOKU, a code of governmental principle, is promulgated by ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI.
1337 Emperor GODAIGO escapes to Yoshino; declaring that the regalia he had surrendered to Prince Toyohito were imitations and denying his abdication, he establishes the South Court.
1338 ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI receives the title of SHOGUN from the Northern Court, founds the MUROMACHI SHOGUNATE.
1349 ASHIKAGA MOTOUJI assumes the office of shogunal deputy for the Kanto region (KANTO KANREI).
1343 KITABATAKE CHIKAFUSA concludes his imperial loyalist history of Japan, JINNO SHOTO KI
1350 KANNO DISTURBANCE(1350-52): ASHIKAGA TADAYOSHI rebels against his brother, the shogun ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI.
1356 NIJO YOSHIMOTO and GUSAI begin compilation of the RENGA (linked verse) collection TSUKUBASHU.
1370 From around this time fleets of Japanese pirates(WAKO) pillage coastal areas of China and the Korean Kingdom of KORYO.
1391 MEITOKU REBELLION(1391-92): the YAMANA FAMILY threatens shogunal ascendancy and is defeated by the shogun ASHIKAGA YOSHIMITSU.
1392 Northern and Southern Courts reconciled with the acceptance of Emperor GOKOMATSU as sole sovereign.
1397 Shogun ASHIKAGA YOSHIMITSU begins construction of the temple KINKAKU-JI in Kyoto.
1399 OEI REBELLION(1399-1400): the powerful OUCHI FAMILY defeated by the shogun ASHIKAGA YOSHIMITSU.
1400 ZEAMI completes the first three chapters of his FUSHI KADEN, a reatise on NO drama.
1401 Shogun ASHIKAGA YOSHIMITSU dispatches an embassy to Ming-dynasty (1368 - 1644) China; diplomatic relations established the following years.
1404 TALLY TRADE initiated with Ming-dynasty(1368-1644) China.
1415 Ryukyu Kingdom establishes entrepot trade with Japan.
1419 OEI INVASION: fleet dispatched Yi-dynasty(1392-1910) Korea attacks pirate(WAKO) base on the Japanese island of Tsushima.
1428 Peasant uprising(TSUCHI IKKI) in Kyoto and surrounding provinces; cancellation of dents(TOKUSEI) sought.
1441 AKAMATSU MITSUSUKE assassinates the Shogun ASHIKAGA YOSHINORI..
1467 ONIN WAR begins (1467 - 1477); Kyoto laid waste..
1471 Buddhist monk RENNYO establishes base for proselytizing in Yoshizaki, Echizen Province; as a result of his efforts the JODO SHIN SECT spreads through northwestern Honshu.
1483 Retired shogun ASHIKAGA YOSHIMASA settles at the villa that later becomes the temple GINKAKU-JI; located in the Higashiyama section of Kyoto, this becomes known as the center of HIGASHIYAMA CULTURE.
1486 A league of SAMURAI gains control over much of Yamashiro Province (YAMASHIRO NO KUNI IKKI).
1488 SOGI, SHOHAKU, and SOCHO compose the hundred-link poem MINASE SANGIN HYAKUIN, a masterpiece of RENGA.Adherents of the JODO SHIN SECT of Buddhism vanquish the army of the governor(SHUGO) of Kaga Province and establish autonomous rule there(IKKO IKKI).
1495 Ink painter SESSHU produces his best-known work, HABOKU SANSUIZU (landscape).
1523 Envoys of the HOSOKAWA FAMILY and the OUCHI FAMILY clash in Ningbo, China, over rights to TALLY TRADE with Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) China; the Ouchi family gains the monopoly.
1536 TEMMON HOKKE REBELLION: an autonomous government established in Kyoto by adherents of the NICHIREN SECT is brought to a violent end by WARRIOR-MONKS of the TENDAI SECT temple ENRYAKU-JI.From around this time Japanese pirates (WAKO) pillage coastal and inland areas of Ming-dynasty(1368-1644) China.
1543 Matchlock muskets (HINAWAJU) are introduced to Japan by the Portuguese on the island of Tanega Shima off the coast of Kyusyu.
1549 Francis XAVIER establishes Japan's first Christian mission at Kagoshima.
1553 First of the Battles of KAWANAKAJIMA between the warlords UESUGI KENSHIN and TAKEDA SHINGEN.
1559 OTOMO SORIN opens the port of Funai in Bungo Province to western trade ships.
1560 Battle of OKEHAZAMA: the future hegemon ODA NOBUNAGA defeats IMAGAWA YOSHIMOTO.
1563 Jesuit missionary Luis FROIS arrives in Japan; he later writes Historia de Japam, which covers the years 1549-93 and, though chiefly a history of Jesuit activities, provides much information about contemporary Japan.

Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568 - 1600)

1568 ODA NOBUNAGA enters Kyoto, installs ASHIKAGA YOSHIAKI as shogun; YOSHIAKI driven into exile in 1573.
1570 Battle of ANEGAWA: ODA NOBUNAGA and TOKUGAWA IEYASU defeat ASAI NAGAMASA.
1571 First Portuguese merchant ship arrives to trade at Nagasaki.ODA NOBUNAGA attacks and burns the temple ENRYAKU-JI.
1575 Battle of NAGASHIRO: the 3000 musketeers deployed by ODA NOBUNAGA in his victory over TAKEDA KATSUYORI mark Japan's shift to modern warfare.
1576 ODA NOBUNAGA begins construction of AZUCHI CASTLE.
1579 Alessandro VALIGNANO, visitor(supervisor) of the Jesuit missions in Asia, arrives in Japan
1580 ODA NOBUNAGA captures the heavily fortified JODO SHIN SECT temple ISHIYAMA HONGAN-JI, political center of an area ranging over several provinces.
1582 Four Christian Japanese boys are sent to Rome at the urging of Alessandra VALIGNAND for an audience with Pope Gregory XIII.HONNO-JI INCIDENT: hegemon ODA NOBUNAGA commits suicide after a surprise attack by his vassal AKECHI MITSUHIDE.?@TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI defeats AKECHI MITSUHIDE in the Battle of YAMAZAKI.TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI initiates the Taiko Kenchi, a national survey of lands and their productive capacity.
1583 National unifier TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI defeats SHIBATA KATSUIE in the Battle of SHIZUGATAKE.TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI begins construction of OSAKA CASTLE.
1587 TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI issues an edict expelling all Christian missionaries from Japan; it is neither obeyed nor enforced (ANTI-CHRISTIAN EDICTS).SEN NO RIKYU and TSUDA SOGYO officiate at a grand outdoor TEA CEREMONY held by TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI on the grounds of the KITANO SHRINE.
1588 TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI issues an edict prohibiting possession of weapons by peasants (SWORD HUNT).
1590 TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI destroys the Later HOJO FAMILY, pacifies all of Japan(ODAWARA CAMPAIGN).
1592 First of the INVASIONS OF KOREA
1596 SAN FELIPE INCIDENT: TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI confiscates the Spanish galleon San Felipe, inaugurating his persecution of Catholic missionaries.
1597 Twenty-six Japanese and foreign Christians crucified at Nagasaki by order of TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI(TWENTY-SIX MARTYRS).Second of the INVASIONS OF KOREA.
1598 TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI died.Following the second of the INVASIONS OF KOREA in 1592 and 1597, TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI's generals return to Japan with Korean potters who establish the traditional of SATSUMA WARE, ARITA WARE and HAGI WARE.

EDO Period (1600 - 1868)

1600 English mariner William ADAMS, who becomes a valued adviser to TOKUGAWA IEYASU, arrives in Japan aboard the disabled Dutch vessel LIEFDE.Battle of SEKIGAHARA: TOKUGAWA IEYASU establishes hegemony over Japan
1601 Around this time TOKUGAWA IEYASU begins to issue licenses for the VERMILION SEAL SHIP TRADE, which had been initiated by TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI.
1602 The Spanish galleon Espiritu Santo, blown off course in a storm, arrives in Shimizu Harbor in Tosa Province; TOKUGAWA IEYASU, who seeks trade with New Spain(Mexico), releases the crew.
1603 TOKUGAWA IEYASU is granted the title of SHOGUN, founds the TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE.OKUNI stages hugely successful dance drama in Kyoto (KABUKI).The JESUIT MISSION PRESS commences publication of a Japanese-Portuguese dictionary(NIPPON JISHO).
1604 Jesuit missionary Joao RODRIGUES begins publication of Arte da Lingoa de Iapam, a comprehensive introduction in Portuguese to written and spoken Japanese.
1607 Arrival in Edo of the first embassy from YI DYNASTY(1392-1910)Korea to the Tokugawa shogunate(CHOSEN TSUSHINSHI).
1609 DUTCH FACTORY established at Hirado; Dutch Trade begins.With the approval of the shogunate, the SHIMAZU FAMILY, lords of the Satsuma domain, mount a military expedition against the Ryukyu Islands; the Ryukyus become a vassal state of Satsuma in 1611(OKINAWA).MADRE DE DEUS INCIDENT: TOKUGAWA IEYASU orders the arrest of the captain of the Portuguese ship Madre de Deus; the following year the captain destroys his ship rather than surrender.
1613 Jahn SARIS arrives in Japan with credentials from King James of England; he petitions TOKUGAWA IEYASU and receives permission for the English to trade.DATE MASAMUNE, daimyo of Sendai(lord of the Sendai domain), dispatches an embassy led by HASEKURA TSUNENAGA to Spain to petition Philip III (unsuccessfully) for the establishment of trade relations with New Spain(Mexico).
1614 Ban on Christianity extended nationwide.First of the Sieges of Osaka Castle begins.
1615 Second of the Sieges of Osaka Castle; TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI's son and appointed heir TOYOTOMI HIDEYORI commits suicide.Shogunate issues an order limiting castles to one per domain (IKKOKU ICHIJO REI), promulgates the BUKE SHOHATTO (laws for the Military Houses) and KINCYU NARABINI KUGE SHOHATTO (laws for governing the Imperial Court and Nobility).
1616 European shipping limited to the ports of Nagasaki and HIRADO.
1624 English Factory in HIRADO closes due to poor business.Spanish ships prohibited from calling at Japanese ports; persecution of Christians intensifies.
1635 Tokugawa shoguns adopt the title of TAIKUN.All foreign shipping restricted to the port of Nagasaki (nonetheless, the DUTCH FACTORY in HIRADO until 1641); overseas travel by Japanese prohibited; Japanese residents abroad prohibited from returning to Japan; capacity of newly constructed ships limited to 500 koku (49 gross tons).Revision of the BUKE SHOHATTO (Laws for the Military Houses); system of mandatory alternate residence in Edo by daimyo formalized (SANKIN KOTAI).
1637 SHIMABARA UPRISING(1637-38) mounted by overtaxed peasants.
1639 Edicts establishing NATIONAL SECLUSION are completed:
Portuguese merchants are evicted from DEJIMA; Portuguese ships are banned from Japan; all Westerners except the Dutch are prohibited from entering Japan.
1643 TAHATA EITAI BAIBAI KINSHI REI, an ordinance prohibiting the sale and purchase of farmland, issued by the TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE.
1651 YUI SHOSETSU plots a coup d'etat against the Tokugawa shogunate (KEIAN INCIDENT); it is unsuccessful.population of RONIN(masterless samurai) in EDO swells; bands of ruffians called HATAMOTO YAKKO and MACHI YAKKO create problems of problems of public order.
1657 MEIREKI FIRE ravages Edo, killing more than 100000 people; much of EDO CASTLE and more than 350 shrines and temples burn.
1665 TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE orders daimyo to conduct a yearly inquisition of Christians(SHUMON ARATAME)Shogunate promulgates the SHOSHU-JI'IN HATTO(laws for the temples) and the SHOSHA-NEGI-KANNUSHI HATTO(laws for the Shinto Shrine); this marks the making of nationwide parish registers of the resident people.
1682 Ihara SAIKAKU publishes amorous adventure tale KOSHOKU ICHIDAI OTOKO.
1685 First of the SHORUI AWAREMI NO REI(Edicts on Compassion for Living Things) issued by the shogun TOKUGAWA TSUNAYOSHI.
1688 Beginning of the GENROKU ERA(1688-1704), a time of cultural flowering known in particular as the golden age of KABUKI and BUNRAKU.YANAGISAWA YOSHIYASU appointed SOBAYONIN(grand chamberlain) to the shogun TOKUGAWA TSUNAYOSHI.
1689 MATSUO BASYO departs on the journey through northern Honshu that the later chronicles in the haiku travel diary OKU NO HOSOMICHI.
1690 German physician Engelbert KAEMPFER arrives at Nagasaki to serve at the Dutch Factory; his two-volume History of Japan, first published in English in 1727, is the standard European work on Japan until the 19th century.
1703 Band of a former retainers of the Ako domain, under the leadership of OISHI YOSHIO, carry out a vendetta against KIBA YOSHINAKA (FORTY-SEVEN RONIN INCIDENT).First performance of SONEZAKI SHINJU, CHIKAMATSU MONZAEMON's BUNRAKU drama(later a KABUKI drama) about a love suicide.
1707 Eruption of Mt. Fuji.
1709 ARAI HAKUSEKI becomes a key shogunal adviser; commencement of the series of reforms known as the SHOTOKU NO CHI(1709-16).
1716 TOKUGAWA YOSHIMUNE becomes shogun; KYOHO REFORMS(1716-45) commence.
1732 Locust plague and unseasonable weather cause KYOHO FAMINE in southwestern Japan.
1736 Chinese trade ships limited to 25 vessels annually to reduce the flow of copper out of Japan.
1748 First performance of the BUNRAKU drama(later a KABUKI drama) KANADEHON CHUSHINGURA, a historical work based on the FORTY-SEVEN RONIN INCIDENT of 1703.
1767 TAMURA OKITSUGU becomes SOBAYONIN(grand chamberlain) and attempts to increase shogunal income through the expansion of commerce; he falls from power in 1786.Around this time, peasant uprisings (HYAKUSHO IKKI) and urban riots(UCHIKOWASHI) occur with increasing frequency.
1782 TENMEI FAMINE begins; estimates of the nationwide death toll during the five years of its duration range from 200000 to 900000.
1783 Mt. Asama erupts, causing some 20000 deaths; falling ash brings low summer temperatures and poor crops; exacerbating the famine that had commenced the previous year.
1787 MATSUDAIRA SADANOBU becomes senior shogunal councillor(ROJU); KANSEI REFORMS(1787-93) initiated.
1790 UKIYO-E artist Kitagawa UTAMARO begins producing his most distinctive and memorable designs at about this time.
1792 Adam Erikovich LAXMAN arrives at Nemuro in eastern Ezo (now Hokkaido) with DAIKOKUYA KODAYU; the following year Laxman negotiates unsuccessfully with shogunal officials in MATSUMAE for the establishment of trade relations between Japan and Russia.
1798 MOTOORI NORINAGA completes the Kojiki den, a comprehensive annotation of the early historical narrative KOJIKI and a major work in the KOKUGAKU(National learning) movement.KONDO JUZO explores the KURIL ISLANDS.
1799 TAKATAYA KAHEI establishes a shipping route to ETOROFU. Shogunate establishes direct administrative control over the southern part of EZO.
1800 INO TADATAKA begins his cartographic survey of all Japan; it is completed in 1816.
1802 JIPPENSHA IKKU publishes the first volume of his serial comic novel TOKAIDOCHU HIZAKURIGE, which describes the adventures of two wayfarers on the road from Edo to Osaka.
1808 British warship Phaeton enters Nagasaki Harbor under a Dutch flag, takes two Dutch prisoners who are released in exchange for food and water; the incident exacerbates shogunal fears of encroachment from the West(PHAETON INCIDENT).
1811 Vasilli Mikhailovich GOLOVNIN, captain of the Russian naval vessel Diana, is captured and imprisoned by the Japanese while surveying the KURIL ISLANDS(he is released in 1813). His account of his experiences, published in 1816, is translated into English in 1818 as Narrative of My Captivity in Japan.
1812 TAKATAYA KAHEI is taken captive by a Russian warship off KUNASHIRI in the KURIL ISLANDS; freed in 1813, he negotiates the release of Vasilli Mikhailovich GOLOVNIN.
1820 Kobayashi ISSA completes the haiku poetical diary ORAGA HARU
1823 Philipp Franz von SIEBOLD arrives in Japan to serve as physician to Dutch Factory; the following year he opens the boarding school Narutakijuku and teaches Western medicine and science.
1825 Shogunate issues the GAIKOKUSEN UCHIHARAI REI (Order for the Repelling of Foreign Ships).
1829 Physician Philipp Franz von SIEBOLD placed under house arrest at DEJIMA for receiving maps of the Japanese archipelago from TAKAHASHI KAGEYASU. Siebold is subsequently banished from Japan; after returning to Europe he writes the encyclopedic study of Japan, Nippon, Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan, as well as Fauna Japonica and Flora Japonica.
1831 Katsushika HOKUSAI's series of UKIYO-E landscapes Fugaku sanjurokke (36 Views of Mt. Fuji) begins to appear by about this time.
1833 TEMPO FAMINE(1833-36) begins; by 1836 rice harvests are estimated to have been only one-third of the normal crop; some 200000 to 300000 people are thought to have died of starvation and disease.Publication of Ando HIROSHIGE's UKIYO-E landscape series Tokaido gojusantsugi(53 Stations of the Tokaido Road) begins.
1837 Rebellion of OSHIO HEIHACHIRO, a Confucian ideologue who seeks famine relief for the peasantry.Rebellion of IKUTA YOROZU, who seeks relief for starving farmers.US merchant ship carrying Japanese castaways is fired on as it attempts to enter Uraga Bay near Edo(now Tokyo) and then Kagoshima Bay in Kyushu(MORRISON INCIDENT).
1839 Shogunate crackdown on scholars of WESTERN LEARNING (BANSHA NO GOKU).
1841 TEMPO REFORMS(1841-43) initiated by senior shogunal councillor MIZUNO TADAKUNI.Fisherman NAKAYAMA MANJIRO, shipwrecked on a Pacific island, is rescued by an American whaler and taken to the United States.
1842 GAIKOKUSEN UCHIHARAI REI(Order for the Repelling of Foreign Ships) revoked; shogunate orders the provision of food, water, and firewood to foreign ship(SHINSUI KYOYO REI).
1843 Peasants in Edo ordered to return to their farmlands(HITOGAESHI).AGECHI REI(Land Requisition Orders) issued as part of the TEMPO REFORMS and then rescinded; fall of MIZUNO TADAKUNI.
1844 Garrison and battery established at Hakodate in EZO; garrison established on Kunashiri in the KURIL ISLANDS.
1846 Foreign warships and whaling vessels enter Japanese waters with increasing frequency; the shogunate and a number of domains give greater attention to coastal defenses.
1853 Four warships of the US East India Squadron, commanded by Commodore Matthew PERRY, call at Uraga at the mouth of Edo Bay.
1854 Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and the Empire of Japan(KANAGAWA TREATY) signed; similar treaties concluded with Great Britain(1854), Russia(1855), and the Netherlands(1856).
1855 Ansei Earthquake; more than 7000 die in Edo. Naval-officer training school(KAIGUN DENSHUJO) established at Nagasaki.
1856 Establishment of the BANSHO SHIRABESHO (Institute for the Investigation of Barbarian Books).US consul general Townsend HARRIS arrives at Shimoda to initiate negotiations with the shogunate on what will become the HARRIS TREATY.YOSHIDA SHOIN begins to teach his imperial loyalist philosophy to young samurai of the Choshu domain.
1857 Reverberatory furnace(HANSHARO) for the production of steel completed at Nirayama on the Izu Peninsula.
1858 II NAOSUKE becomes senior adviser to the shogun(TAIRO).ANSEI COMMERCIAL TREATIES are concluded between the shogunate and the United States, the Netherlands, Russia, Great Britain, and France.Beginning of the ANSEI PURGE(1858-60) of opponents to the shogunate's opening of Japan to the West.
1859 British consul general Rutherford ALCOCK arrives in Japan; The Capital of Tycoon, his account of his dealings with the shogunate, is publishes in 1863.British merchant Thomas Blake GLOVER arrives in Japan; Glover and Co supplies arms to the domains of Satsuma and Choshu, centers of antishogunal activity.
1860 Shogunal mission to the United States leaves aboard the American ship Powhatan to ratify the HARRIS TREATY. It is accompanied by the KANRIN MARU, with a Japanese crew under the command of KATSU KAISHU.Assassination of II NAOSUKE(SAKURADA MONGAI INCIDENT).From about this time large quantities of UKIYO-E prints are exported to Europe; the influence of Japanese art begins to be felt in the West.
1862 Assassination attempt on ANDO NOBUMASA, leading senior councillor (ROJU) of the shogunate, in reaction to the planned marriage of the shogun TOKUGAWA IEMOCHI to Princess KAZU, sister of Emperor KOMEI. The marriage in fact takes place later this year.RICHARDSON AFFAIR: murder of a British merchant by retainers of the Satsuma domain.
1863 KAGOSHIMA BOMBARDMENT: British warships attack the Satsuma domain in retaliation for the RICHARDSON AFFAIR.COUP D'ETAT OF 30 SEPTEMBER 1863: radical proimperial samurai of the Choshu domain driven from Kyoto.
1864 IKEDAYA INCIDENT: clash in Kyoto between proimperial samurai, many from the Choshu domain, and the shogunal SHINSENGUMI police force.HAMAGURI GOMON INCIDENT: proimperial Choshu domain extremists attempt to force their way into Kyoto; the imperial court orders the shogunate to mount a punitive expedition against Choshu (CHOSHU EXPEDITIONS).SHIMONOSEKI BOMBARDMENT: naval expedition by the Western powers against the Choshu domain in retaliation for attacks on its ships passing through the Shimonoseki Strait.
1865 British minister plenipotentiary Sir Harry Smith PARKES arrives in Japan; Ernest Mason SATOW and William George ASTON, who later earn renown as Japanologists, serve him as interpreters.
1866 SATSUMA-CHOSHU ALLIANCE formed against the TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE.KAIZEI YAKUSHO(Tariff Convention) signed with Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States.Shogunal army engages forces of the Choshu domain in the second of the CHOSHU EXPEDITIONS; the shogunate's failure to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion severely damages its prestige.
1867 Formal return of political authority of the emperor by the last shogun, TOKUGAWA YOSHINOBU(TAISEI HOKAN).

Meiji Period (1868- 1912)

1868 Restoration of imperial rule (MEIJI RESTORATION; OSEI FUKKO).BOSHIN CIVIL WAR(1868-69): shogunate loyalist forces are defeated in a series of battles.CHARTER OATH promulgated; GOBO NO KEIJI (Five public Notices) issued by Emperor MEIJI.Buddhist priests serving at Shinto shrines are ordered to abandon their vows and return to the laity (SHINTO AND BUDDHISM, SEPARATION).SEITAISHO (Constitution of 1868) issued.DAJOKAN (Grand Council of State) becomes the central organ of the new imperial government.First national paper currency issued(DAJOKAN SATSU).The city of Edo is renamed TOKYO (eastern capital); it becomes the official seat of government the following year.The emperor adopts the era name(NENGO) Meiji (Enlightened Rule).The emperor makes a preliminary visit to Tokyo; he formally moves his residence from Kyoto to the new capital the following year.
1869 Formal return of dominate registers to Emperor MEIJI (HANSEKI HOKAN).The shrine Shokonsha (now YASUKUNI SHRINE) is established in Tokyo to enshrine Japanese who died in war from 1853 on.EZO, the region to the north of the main island of Honshu, is renamed HOKKAIDO; the KAITAKUSHI (Hokkaido Colonization Office) is opened.
1870 Telegraph line links Tokyo and Yokahama.Imperial rescript (the Daikyo Sempu) declares SHINTO beliefs to be the basis for the national unity.Commoners (HEIMIN) are permitted to assume surnames.
1871 First Japanese-language daily newspaper, YOKOHAMA MAINICHI SHINBUN, begins publication.POSTAL SERVICE established by MAEJIMA HISOKA.Family Registration Law (Koseki Ho) enacted (JINSHIN KOSEKI); the SHUMON ARATAME system of census registration suspended.Under the Shinka Jorei (New Currency Regulation) the YEN is established as Japan's official monetary unit and the gold standard is adopted.Domains dissolved and prefectures established .Samurai permitted to cut their topknots (DAMPATSU REI) and cast off their swords; samurai and aristocrats permitted to marry commoners; the designations eta and HININ, assigned to the lowest social classes, are abolished.IWAKURA MISSION departs Japan on an 18-month tour to study the social system of the United States and European nations.
1872 Implementation of the JINSHIN KOSEKI, the first nationwide census registration conducted by the Meiji government; the population in this year is given as 33110825.Shogunate ordinance forbidding the sale and purchase farmland (TAHATA EITAI BAIBAI KINSHI REI) is revoked.Creation of the ARMY MINISTRY and the NAVY MINISTRY.Railroad begins operation between Tokyo and Yokohama.MARIA LUZ INCIDENT results in the recognition, on the basis of international law, of the equality of Japan among nations. The EDUCATION ORDER OF 1872 establishes Japan's first modern school system.
1873 Gregorian calendar adopted on 1 January (Meiji 5.12.3 according to the lunar calendar).CONSCRIPTION ORDINANCE OF 1873 enacted; antidraft riots ensue (KETSUZEI IKKI). Land Tax Reform Law issued (LAND TAX REFORM OF 1873-1881).SAIGO TAKAMORI and other dissidents resign from the government after the rejection of their plan for an expedition against Korea (SEIKANRON).HOME MINISTRY established.
1874 ITAGAKI TAISUKE and others submit the Tosa Memorial, calling for the establishment of an elected national assembly (FREEDOM AND PEOPLE'S RIGHT MOVEMENT).SAGA REBELLION by disaffected samurai. TAIWAN EXPEDITION F 1874.During this year and the next, FOREIGN EMPLOYEES OF THE MEIJI PERIOD, hired by the government as teachers, technicians, and advisers, reach a peak of some 520.
1875 Treaty of ST.PETERSBURG gives SAKHALIN to Russia and the KURIL ISLANDS to Japan.LIBEL LAW OF 1875 and PRESS ORDINANCE OF 1875 issued control the FREEDOM and PEOPLE'S RIGHT MOVEMENT.
1876 Treaty of KANAGAWA, signed with Korea, gains unequal privileges for Japan.Edict issued prohibiting the wearing of swords (HAITO REI). William Smith CLARK arrives in Japan to serve as the vice president of Sapporo Agricultural College (now part of HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY).JIMPUREN REBELLION, AKIZUKI REBELLION OF 1876, HAGI REBELLION mounted by discontented samurai.Uprising in Mie prefecture by peasants who demand a land tax reduction; lower rats implemented in 1877.
1877 SATSUMA REBELLION: SAIGO TAKAMORI commits suicide. Telephone Service begins.
1878 Ernest Francisco FENOLLOSA arrives in Japan to teach philosophy and political economy of Tokyo University; he will eventually bring an appreciation of traditional Japanese art to the West and contribute to the reassessment of Japanese art within Japan.
1879 Part of the Ryukyu Islands incorporated into Japan as Okinawa Prefecture.
1880 Formation of the LEAGUE FOR ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.SHUKAI JOREI (Public Assembly Ordinance) issued control the FREEDOM AND PEOPLE'S RIGHT MOVEMENT.
1881 HOKKAIDO COLONIZATION OFFICE SCANDAL OF 1881. JIYUTO (Liberal Party), Japan's first national political party, is formed.MATSUKATA MASAYOSHI becomes minister of finance and begins to implement the MATSUKATA FISCAL POLICY.
1882 RIKKEN KAISHIN TO (Constitutional Reform Party) founded.BANK OF JAPAN established.IMO MUTINY: revolt of traditionalist Korean troops in relation to the Japanese-inspired modernization of the Korean army. In the Treaty of CHEMUKP'O, signed with Korea later that year, Japan receives reparations for loss of Japanese lives and property during the revolt.
1883 Completion of the ROKUMEIKAN, a two-story brick building designated by Josiah CONDER; it is the site for Western-style social events attended by prominent Japanese and foreigners.
1884 Peerage Act issued; 508 titles of nobility conferred (PEERAGE).Typhoon lashes the Pacific coast of Japan; nearly 2000 die in Kyoto.CHICHIBU INCIDENT: peasants in Saitama Prefecture, led by members of the FREEDOM AND PEOPLE;S RIGHT MOVEMENT, rise against the government.KAPSIN POLITICAL COUP mounted in Korea with the support of Japanese.
1885 First group of Japanese emigrants to Hawaii departs. Cabinet system adopted; the new cabinet supersedes the DAJOKAN (Grand Council of State) as the central organ of the Japanese state (PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET).
1886 NORMANTON INCIDENT: all 23 Japanese passengers on the British freighter Normanton drown; the British crew escape in lifeboats.
1887 DAIDO DANKETSU MOVEMENT seeks reorganization of political parties in preparation for the establishment of a parliamentary system.SANDAI JIKEN KEMPAKU MOVEMENT proposes revision of the Unequal Treaties with the Western powers.
1888 PRIVY COUNCIL established.The volcano BANDAISAN erupts; 444 people die.The Municipal System is carried out.
1889 CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN promulgated.IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD LAW enacted.
1890 MORI OGAI publishes the short story "Maihime (The Dancing Girl)"; this marks the debut of a major voice in modern Japanese literature. First general election (ELECTIONS).IMPERIAL RESCRIPT ON EDUCATION distributed to all schools.First session of the IMPERIAL DIET convened.KITASATO SHIBASABURO cooperates with Emil Behring in Germany in developing serum therapies for he treatment of diphtheria and tetanus.The Prefectural System is carried out.
1891 OTSU INCIDENT: assassination attempt on Russian Crown Prince Nicholas Alexandrovitch, who is on a pleasure tour of Japan.Earthquake in Gifu and Aichi prefectures; 7273 people die.TANAKA SHOZO submits query to the Diet concerning environmental pollution in Tochigi Prefecture (ASHIO COPPER MINE INCIDENT).
1893 TONGHAK REBELLION, a peasant uprising, breaks out in Korea. (China and Japan intervene in 1894, commencing the SINO-JAPANESE WAR OF 1894-1895).Artist KURODA SEIKI returns from study in Paris and introduces impressionism to Japan.
1894 ANGLO-JAPANESE COMMERCIAL TREATY OF 1894 signed; the first treaty revision with a signatory of the KAIZEI YAKUSHO (Tariff Convention) of 1866, it abolishes extra territoriality and restores partial tariff autonomy to Japan.SINO-JAPANESE WAR OF 1894-1895 begins.
1895 Treaty of SHIMONOSEKI ends hostilities between China and Japan.TRIPARTITE INTERVENTION: Japan forced by Russia, France, and Germany to relinquish territory ceded to it by China.TAIWAN becomes a Japanese colony as part of China's terms of surrender at the end of the SINO-JAPANESE WAR OF 1894-1895.
1899 First Japanese-made motion picture shown at the Kabukiza theater in Tokyo.NITOBE INAZO publishes Bushido; The Soul of Japan in Philadelphia.
1900 PUBLIC ORDER AND POLICE LAW OF 1900 enacted. System established under which only military men on active duty can serve as army or navy ministers (GUMBU DAIJIN GEN'EKI BUKAN SEI).BOXER REBELLION in China; Russia occupies Manchuria, threatening Japanese colonial ambitions on the Asian continental.
1901 Ultranationalist AMUR RIVER SOCIETY founded to promote Japanese expansion in Asia. YOSANO AKIKO publishes Midaregami (Tangled Hair), a collection of passionate TANKA verse.Around this time railroad and shipping systems and the heavy industries progress under the government subsidies and protection. YAHATA IRONWORKS operates based coal mines of Chikuho in KYUSHU and iron ores of Taie in SINO.
1902 ANGLO-JAPANESE ALLIANCE signed.
1903 HEIMIN SHA (Society of Commoners), a socialist organization, founded.
1904 RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR(1904-1905) begins.KOTOKU SHUSUI and SAKAI TOSHIHIKO publish the first Japanese translation of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto in their socialist newspaper HEIMIN SHINBUN.
1905 NATSUME SOSEKI begins serialization in the magazine HOTOTOGISU of WAGAHAI WA NEKO DE ARU ( I Am a Cat.) .Treaty of PORTSMOUTH ends the RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR.HIBIYA INCENDIARY INCIDENT: demonstrators protest the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth.
1906 Office of the RESIDENT GENERAL IN KOREA established.JAPAN SOCIALIST PARTY formed; it is boned by the government in 1907. OKAKURA KAKUZO publishes The Book of Tea in New York City. SOUTH MANCHURIA RAILWAY incorporated.
1907 ITO HIROBUMI, the Japanese resident general in Korea, forces Korean king KOJONG's abdication and the signing of the Korean-Japanese Convention of 1907, giving Japan effective control of Korea's internal affairs.
1908 First group of Japanese emigrants to Brazil departs from Kobe.TAKAHIRA-ROOT AGREEMENT: Japan gains US recognition of its special status in Manchuria.
1909 English potter Bernard LEACH arrives in Japan; his Potter's book (1940) introduces East Asian glaze and kiln technology to the West.Government of the city of Tokyo gives more than 2000 flowering cherry saplings as a goodwill present to Washington,DC.ITO HIROBUMI assassinated on his arrival at Harbin in Manchuria by Korean nationalist AN CHUNG-GUN.
1910 HIGH TREASON INCIDENT OF 1910: KOTOKU SHUNSUI implicated in a plot to assassinate Emperor MEIJI; he is executed the following year. Korea is made a colony of Japan; GOVERNMENT-GENERAL OF KOREA established.Expedition headed by SHIRASE NOBU departs Japan to explore Antarctica.ISHIKAWA TAKUBOKU publishes his first collection of TANKA verse, Ichiaku no suna (A Handful of Sand).
1911 Treaties signed with the Western powers that restore tariff autonomy to Japan.FACTORY LAW OF 1911 enacted to protect laborers.Feminist organization SEITO SYA (Blue stocking Society) founded.

Taisyo Period (1912- 1926)

1912 Japan sends two athletes to the 5th Summer Olympic Games at Stockholm.Death of Emperor MEIJI; accession of Emperor TAISYO.
1914 SIEMENS INCIDENT: politicians changed with bribery; resignation of the first YAMAMOTO GONNOHYOE cabinet.Japan enters WORLD WAR I on the side of Great Britain and its allies.
1915 Japan presents China with its TWENTY-ONE DEMANDS for territorial and other concessions.
1917 LANSING-ISHII AGREEMENT: the United States and Japan agree to uphold the OPEN DOOR POLICY in China; Japan gains recognition of its "special interest in China" (the agreement is annulled in 1923).
1918 Commencement of the SIBERIAN INTERVENTION (1918-22).RICE RIOTS OF 1918, provoked by spiraling inflation, lead to the collapse of the TERAICHI MASATAKE cabinet.
1919 SAMIL INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT (1919-20) begins in Korea; it is viciously suppressed by the Japanese.As a victor nation in WORLD WAR I, Japan is a signatory to the Treaty of VERSAILLES.
1920 League of Nations established; Japan is granted permanent membership in the League Council.MORITO INCIDENT: MORITO TATSUO, an assistant professor at Tokyo University, is imprisoned for three months for publishing an article on the social theory of the anarchist Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin.NIKOLAEVSK INCIDENT: Japanese residents of the town of Nikolaevsk near the mouth of the Amur River are massacred.Labor activists gather in Tokyo's Ueno Park for the first celebration of May Day in Japan.NIHON SHAKAI SHUGI DOMEI (Japan Socialist League) founded; the government orders it to dissolve in 1921.
1921 WASHINGTON CONFERENCE (1921-22) begins; it will result in the signing of the FOUR-POWER TREATY, the NINE-POWER TREATY, and the WASHINGTON NAVAL TREATY OF 1922.Crown Prince Hirohito (later Emperor SHOWA) becomes regent to the ailing Emperor TAISHI.
1922 Suiheisha (Society of Levelers) founded to fight discrimination against BURAKUMIN.JAPAN COMMUNIST PARTY established; frequently suppressed by the government, it is not legally constituted until after World War II.
1923 TOKYO EARTHQUAKE OF 1923; in its wake several thousand Koreans in Japan massacred by vigilante groups and police; Japanese radicals murdered by the military police (KAMEIDO INCIDENT; OSUGI SAKAE).TORANOMON INCIDENT: assassination attempt on Prince Regent Hirohito.
1925 SOVIET-JAPANESE BASIC CONVENTION signed: diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union established.Enactment of the PEACE PRESERVATION LAW OF 1925; freedoms of speech and assembly severely restricted.Universal Manhood Suffrage Law passed.First regular radio broadcasting begun by the Tokyo BroadcastingStation, a predecessor of Japan's public network, NHK, which was formed the following year. Arthur David WALEY publishes the first volume of his six-volume translation of the TALE OF GENJI.

Syowa Period - Pre WW-II (1926- 1945)

1926 Death of Emperor TAISHO; accession of Emperor SHOWA.
1927 FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1927.NANJING (NANKING) INCIDENT: Japanese, British, and US consulates in Nanjing attacked by Chinese Nationalist soldiers.TANAKA GIICHI cabinet dispatches troops to Shandong Province in China.
1928 MARCH 15TH INCIDENT: 1658 suspected communists arrested; charges brought against 483.Manchurian warlord ZHANG ZUOLIN (Chang-Tso-Lin) assassinated by Japanese army officers.KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT signed by Japan and 14 other countries; it provokes criticism in Japan for the use of the phrase "in the names of their respective peoples", which some Japanese take to be an assault on the sovereignty of the emperor.
1929 APRIL 16TH INCIDENT: six hundred to 700 suspected communists arrested, charges brought against 339.
1930 SHOWA DEPRESSION (1930-35) begins.First of the LONDON NAVAL CONFERENCES; terms of the resulting naval arms limitation treaty provoke intense criticism of the government by the military(TOSUIKEN). Prime Minister HAMAGUCHI OSACHI mortally wounded at Tokyo Station by a right-wing radical.
1931 MARCH INCIDENT: planned coup by rightist army officers and civilians aborted. LIUTIAOGOU (LIU-T'IAO-KOU) INCIDENT: conquest of Manchuria by the Japanese GUANDONG (KWANTUNG) ARMY begins (1931-33; MANCHURIAN INCIDENT).OCTOBER INCIDENT: leaders of a planned military coup arrested.
1932 SAKURADAMON INCIDENT: assassination attempt made on Emperor SHOWA.SHANGHAI INCIDENT: Chinese and Japanese troops slash in Shanghai. MAY 15TH INCIDENT: Prime Minister INUKAI TSUYOSHI assassinated during an attempted coup by young naval officers.
1933 Japan withdraws from the League of Nations to express its opposition to report criticizing it as an aggressor in Manchuria (LYTTON COMMISSION; LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND JAPAN).TANGGU (TANGKU) TRUCE: armistice agreement between Chinese officials and officers of the Japanese GUANDONG (KWANTUNG) ARMY.
1934 TEIJIN INCIDENT: government officials implicated in a stock scandal.WASHINGTON NAVAL TREATY OF 1922 abrogated by Japan.
1935 Controversy arises over the constitutional status of the emperor (TENNO KIKAN SETSU).HE-UMEZU (HO_UMEZU) AGREEMENT concluded in North China.
1936 Second of the LONDON NAVAL CONFERENCES; Japan withdraws after rejection of its proposal that the Japanese fleet be granted full parity with the fleets of Britain and the United States.FEBRUARY 26TH INCIDENT: 1400 troops participate in an unsuccessful coup of d'etat.Observance of May Day prohibited in Japan.
1937 Publication in book form of the novels YUKIGUNI (Snow Country) by KAWABATA YASUNARI. MARCO POLO BRIDGE INCIDENT: SINO-JAPANESE WAR OF 1937-1945 commences.NANJING (NANKING) MASSACRE (1937-38): some 140000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war are estimated to have been murdered by Japanese forces following the taking of Nanjing.POPULAR FRONT INCIDENT (1937-38): some 400 liberals and leftists arrested.
1938 Prime Minister KONOE FUMIMARO declares a policy of nonrecognition of Nationalist China and calls for "the establishment of a new order in East Asia" (TOA SHINCHITSUJO). Passage of the NATIONAL MOBILIZATION LAW.
1939 NOMONHAN INCIDENT: heavy fighting between Japanese and Soviet troops along the Manchurian-Mongolian border ends in a rout of Japanese forces.NATIONAL SERVICE DRAFT ORDINANCE issued to assure an adequate supply of labor in strategic industries.
1940 TRIPARTITE PACT signed by Japan, Germany, and Italy.IMPERIAL RULE ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION formed.Treasures of the SHOSOIN are publicly exhibited for the first time.
1941 Compulsory school system of KOKUMIN GAKKO established to train "loyal subjects of the emperor".SOVIET-JAPANESE NEUTRALITY PACT signed.Talks between Ambassador NOMURA KICHISABURO and Secretary of State Cordell HULL begin in an attempt to resolve the stalemate in US-Japan relation. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines; war declared against the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands (WORLD WAR II).
1942 Japanese forces occupy the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and Burma.Japanese naval fleet defeated in the Battle of MIDWAY.Railway tunnel completed beneath the KAMMON STRAIT connecting southwestern Honshu and northern Kyushu.
1943 Japanese forces withdraw from GUADALCANAL.Serialization of SASAMEYUKI (The Makioka Sisters), TANIZAKI JUN'ICHIRO's novel about four upper-middle-class sisters, is suspended under pressure from the military. Japanese forces on the island of ATTU in the Aleutians annihilated.Late-Yayoi-period (ca AD 100-ca AD 300) TORO SITE discovered.
1944 Saipan falls; large-scale US bombing raids on the Japanese main islands begin.Japanese naval fleet defeated in the Battle of LEYTE GULF.
1945 Iwojima falls (IWOJIMA BATTLE).Okinawa falls.ATOMIC BOMB dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Japan accepts the terms of the POTSDAM DECLARATION.Emperor SHOWA renounces his divinity in New Year's address to the Japanese people.

Syowa Period - Post WW-II (1945- 1989)

1945 Emperor SHOWA announces the end of hostilities in a national radio broadcast.Douglas MACARTHUR, supreme commander for the Allied powers (SCAP), arrives at Atsugi Airfield near Tokyo to oversee the OCCUPATION of Japan (1945-52).Instrument of Surrender signed aboard the USS Missouri.SCAP headquarters orders the arrest of suspected Japanese war criminals (WAR CRIMES TRIALS), issues directives aimed at the democratization of Japan that include the release of political prisoners and the breakup of industrial and financial combines (ZAIBATSU DISSOLUTION).Revival of the JAPAN SOCIALIST PARTY and the JAPAN COMMUNIST PARTY.New election law promulgated; women given the vote (WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE).Labor Union Law issued (LABOR LAWS; LABOR REFORMS OF1945-47).
1946 OCCUPATION PURGE of prewar and wartime Japanese leaders.Implementation of the LAND REFORMS OF 1946 begins.Emergency anti-inflation measures issued by SCAP; "new yen" currency reform.Emperor SHOWA begins a series of goodwill tours of the country.First of the UNITED STATES EDUCATION MISSIONS TO JAPAN arrives.Commencement of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946-48; WAR CRIMES TRIALS).SHOKURYO MEDE (Food May Day): 300000 people demonstrate in front of the Imperial Palace. CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN promulgated; it goes into effect in 1947.AIZAWA TADAHIRO discovers the IWAJUKU SITE, the first recognized paleolithic site in Japan.Ruth Fulton BENEDICT publishes The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, a sociological study of the Japanese.
1947 SCAP bans the GENERAL STRIKE OF 1947.Enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education, the Labor Standards Law, the Antimonopoly Law, the Local Autonomy Law, and the Child Welfare Law.
1948 EUGENIC PROTECTION LAW enacted; it contains provisions governing abortion and sterilization.NINE PRINCIPLES FOR ECONOMIC STABILIZATION issued.
1949 Comprehensive anti-inflation measures introduced (DODGE LINE); a constant exchange rate of \360 to US $1 established (Foreign Exchange Controls).TAIRA INCIDENT; SHIMOYAMA INCIDENT; MITAKA INCIDENT; MATSUKAWA INCIDENT; public opinion turns against the JAPAN COMMUNIST PARTY; emphasis Occupation reforms shifts from democratization to economic growth.SHOUP MISSION gives recommendations on Japan's tax structure; foundation laid for the present system of direct taxation.YUKAWA HIDEKI awarded the Nobel Prize for physics; he is the first Japanese to receive a Nobel Prize.
1950 Jiyuto (LIBERAL PARTY) formed.Public Office Election Law enacted.SOHYO(General Council of Trade Unions of Japan) founded.RED PURGE: 1177 government employees who are JAPAN COMMUNIST PARTY members removed from their positions.NATIONAL POLICE RESERVE created.
1951 SAN FRANCISCO PEACE TREATY and the first of the UNITED STATES-JAPAN SECURITY TREATIES signed.
1952 UNITED STATES-JAPAN ADMINISTRATIVE AGREEMENT signed.SAN FRANCISCO PEACE TREATY goes into effect; OCCUPATION ends and Japan regains its sovereignty.MAY DAY INCIDENT: 1232 demonstrating workers arrested under the Riot Law.SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES PREVENTION LAW enacted.Japan sends a team of athletes, the first in the post-World War II period, to participate in the 15th Summer Olympic Games at Helsinki.First exchange of scholars between Japan and the United States conducted under the auspices of the Fulbright Commission (JAPAN-UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION). UCHINADA INCIDENT (1952-53): villagers in Uchinada, Ishikawa Prefecture, protest the establishment of a US Army firing range.National Police Reserve reorganized as the National Safety Forces (forerunner of the SELF DEFENSE FORCES).
1953 TELEVISION broadcasting begins in Japan.First case of Minamata disease reported (POLLUTION-RELATED DISEASES).
1954 Excavation of the 8th-century imperial palace of HEIJOKYO (NARA) begins.SHIPBUILDING SCANDAL OF 1954 contributes to the fall of the fifth YOSHIDA SHIGERU cabinet.LUCKY DRAGON INCIDENT: Japanese fishing boat contaminated by fallout from a US atomic test on Bikini in the Marshall Islands.UNITED STATES-JAPAN MUTUAL DEFENSE ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT signed.The MINISTRY OF EDUCATION establishes a scholarship system to support study by foreign students in Japan.Jigokumon (Gate of Hell), a film by KINUGASA TEINOSUKE, receives the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.DEFENSE AGENCY and the SELF DEFENSE FORCES established.
1955 First Atomic Disasters Anniversary World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs held in Hiroshima (ATOMIC WEAPONS, MOVEMENT TO BAN).First transistor radios go on sale(ELECTRONICS).Japan joins GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade).LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY formed.
1956 MISHIMA YUKIO publishes the novel KINKAKUJI (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion), a psychological portrait of a priest who sets fire to the temple he serves.MAKI ARITSUNE leads a party of Japanese climbers who make the first ascent of Mt. Manaslu in the Himalayas.PROSTITUTION PREVENTION LAW passed.The 1956 WHITE PAPER ON THE ECONOMY declares an "end to the postwar period".SOVIET-JAPANESE JOINT DECLARATION reestablishes diplomatic relations between the two countries.Japan granted membership in the United Nations.
1957 Japanese expedition establishes Showa Station, a base camp in Antarctica(ANTARCTIC RESEARCH).
1958 JETRO, an organization for the promotion of Japan's foreign trade, is established under the administration of the MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY.Construction of TOKYO TOWER completed.
1959 Metric system adopted officially by Japan (WEIGHTS AND MEASURES).Beginning of protests against the revision of the United States-Japan Security Treaty (PEACE MOVEMENT; UNITED STATES-JAPAN TREATIES).Ise Bay Typhoon crosses central Honshu; some 5000 people reported dead or missing.
1960 MIIKE STRIKE: 282-day strike at Miike Coal Mines.Second of the UNITED STATES-JAPAN SECURITY TREATIES signed in Washington; demonstrators against ratification of the treaty besiege the National Diet Building in Tokyo.
1962 Sale of thalidomide in Japan halted (THALIDOMIDE CHILDREN).
1964 High-speed SHINKANSEN trains begin operations between Tokyo and Osaka.Eighteenth Summer Olympic Games, the first sponsored by an Asian city, held in Tokyo (TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES).
1965 Formation of Gensuikin (Japan Congress against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs; ATOMIC WEAPONS, MOVEMENT TO BAN).First demonstrations by the PEACE FOR VIETNAM COMMITTEE.KOREA-JAPAN TREATY OF 1965 signed; diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea restored.TOMONAGA SIN'ICHIRO shares the Nobel Prize for physics.
1966 The Beatles perform of the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo; some 2000 policemen provide security of each of the five concerts.IBUSE MASUJI completes serialization of the novel KUROI AME (Black Rain), a study of the horrific consequences of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
1968 UNIVERSITY UPHEAVALS OF 1968-1969 begin.Basic Law for Consumer Protection enacted.OGASAWARA ISLANDS returned to Japanese sovereignty by the United States.KAWABATA YASUNARI wins the Nobel Prize for literature.
1969 SATO-NIXON COMMUNIQUE: agreement reached on the reversion of OKINAWA to Japanese sovereignty in 1972.
1970 EXPO '70 opens in Osaka.Automatic renewal of the United States-Japan Security Treaty.Novelist MISHIMA YUKIO leads his private ultranationalist group Tate no Kai in an attempt to provoke on uprising by Ground Self Defense Forces; failing, he commits suicide.
1971 ENVIRONMENT AGENCY established.Revaluation of the YEN (\308=US $1) depresses the Japanese economy.
1972 Eleventh Winter Olympic Games, held in Sapporo (SAPPORO OLYMPIC GAMES).OKINAWA returned to Japanese sovereignty by the United States.CHINA-JAPAN JOINT COMMUNIQUE OF 1972 issued; it announces the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China.TAKAMATSUZUKA TOMB excavated; its polychrome wall paintings date to ca AD 700.JAPAN FOUNDATION established.
1973 Floating exchange rate introduced. OIL CRISIS OF 1973: oil prices spiral.ESAKI REONA shares the Nobel Prize for physics.
1974 NATIONAL LAND AGENCY established to plan land use.Former prime minister SATO EISAKU receives the Nobel Peace Prize.Resignation of Prime Minister TANAKA KAKUEI amid allegations of involvement in financial scandals.
1975 At the invitation of US president Gerald R Ford, Emperor SHOWA and Empress NAGAKO make a state visit to the United States.
1976 LOCKHEED SCANDAL: Japanese government officials charged with taking bribes from Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
1977 Japan sets its territorial limit at 12 nautical miles from its coasts and its FISHERY ZONE at 200 nautical miles from its coasts.
1978 NEW TOKYO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Narita Airport) opens.CHINA-JAPAN PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP TREATY signed.
1980 Japanese automobile production outpaces that of the United States.
1981 FUKUI KEN'ICHI shares the Nobel Prize for chemistry.
1982 Chinese and South Korean governments protest the content of Japanese history textbooks; the Japanese government agrees to revise certain of the disputed passages.
1983 TOKYO DISNEYLAND opens.
1984 Korean president Chon Du-hwan makes state visit to Japan; in reference to Korea-Japan relations, Emperor SHOWA expresses "regret" over the "unfortunate past".
1985 Amendment to the Nationality Law goes into effect; eligibility for Japanese citizenship through either the maternal or paternal line is legally recognized.First cases of AIDS reported in Japan.Enactment of the EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY LAW FOR MEN AND WOMEN; it becomes effective the following year.
1987 TONEGAWA SUSUMU wins the Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine.
1988 RECRUIT SCANDAL: it comes to light that the staffs of a number of leading politicians received gifts of stock shares from Recruit Co in 1986.Consumption Tax Law pushed through the Diet by a LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY majority; 3-percent CONSUMPTION TAX goes into effect the following year.

Heisei Period (1989- )

1989 Death of Emperor SHOWA; accession of Emperor AKIHITO.
1990 Formal enthronement of Emperor AKIHITO.Journalist Akiyama Toyohiro joins the crew of Soyuz TM-11; he is the first Japanese to enter outer space.
1992 Law on Cooperation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations passed by the Diet in June; Japanese SELF DEFENSE FORCES personnel are permitted to participate in peacekeeping operations in foreign lands(UNITED NATIONS AND JAPAN). By October, some 600 members of the Ground Self Defense Forces had been sent to Cambodia on such a mission.The American space shuttle Endeavor II is launched; among those aboard is Japan's first astronaut, Mori Mamoru.
1993 Rice starts the free competitive trade.
1994 OHE KENSABURO wins the Nobel Prize for literature.
1995 HANSHIN KOBE EARTHQUAKE
1998 Winter Olympic Games, held in NAGANO Prefecture (NAGANO OLYMPIC GAMES).

Source: Sanae Miura: CHRONOLOGY OF JAPANESE HISTORY