Timeline of Japanese history
This is a timeline of Japanese history, comprising important legal, territorial and cultural changes and political events in Japan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Japan. See also the list of Emperors of Japan and Prime Ministers of Japan and the list of years in Japan.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by
expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
7th century BC
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 660 | | Mythical Emperor Jimmu ascends to the throne, marking the end of Age of the Gods and start of traditional Japanese history |
4th century BC
2nd century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 180 | | Civil war of Wa ends, bringing shaman queen Himiko to power somewhere in Western Japan |
3rd century
4th century
5th century
Very little is known about 5th century in Japan. The period was definitely marked by volatile inter-state warfare, complex alliances, submissions and betrayals. Some of more constant Yamato polity partners were Baekje and Gaya confederacy, while enemies included Goguryeo, Silla and various Chinese groups. All of the records of the era either did not survive or are contentious.
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 404 | | Goguryeo–Yamato War between Yamato, Baekje, and Gaya against Goguryeo and Silla |
| 430 | | Yamato polity become a regional power after subjugating several states in West Japan. Details are subject to Mimana controversy. |
| 461 | | Chronology of the Japanese historical records become consistent. All dates before this entry are reconstructed with foreign or archaeological data |
| 461 | | Baekje sends an embassy to Japan, as confirmed by both Japanese and Korean records. |
6th century
7th century
8th century
9th century
10th century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 901 | | Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku (6th and last of historical chronicles Rikkokushi) was completed. |
| 907 | | Several severe epidemics and drought, resulting in reduction of contacts with the foreign countries |
| 939 | | Rebellion of Taira no Masakado in Hitachi Province - the first of many rebellions led by professional warriors (samurai) |
| 984 | | The Ishinpō, the oldest surviving Japanese medical manual, is compiled. |
11th century
12th century
13th century
14th century
15th century
16th century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1523 | | Japanese in-fighting results in Ningbo Incident, bringing a trade with China to halt and resulting in a new wave of Wokou piracy. |
| 1543 | | First Europeans arrive to Japan, opening Nanban trade period. |
| 1560 | | Battle of Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga emerged victorious. |
| 1570 | | Oda Nobunaga have started a 10-years long Ishiyama Hongan-ji War to suppress the warrior monks community and Kaga ikki state. |
| 1572 |
| The Japanese society began to stabilize, starting Azuchi–Momoyama period under ruling of Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi |
| 1579 | | Azuchi religious debate have resulted in enforced religious tolerance. |
| 1581 | | Oda Nobunaga forces wins Tenshō Iga War |
| 1581 | | Himeji Castle, the largest in Japan, was built. |
| 1582 | | Incident at Honnō-ji: Akechi Mitsuhide, an Oda general, betrayed Nobunaga at Honnō-ji and forced him to commit seppuku. |
| 1585 | | Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Shikoku |
| 1587 | | Toyotomi Hideyoshi has launched Kyūshū Campaign |
| 1590 | 4 August | Toyotomi Hideyoshi has prevailed over Late Hōjō clan in Siege of Odawara in Kantō region, completing the re-unification of Japan. |
| 1591 | 8 October | Separation Edict and Population Census Edict froze the social structure of Japan. |
| 1592 | 23 May | Toyotomi Hideyoshi, acting as kampaku (regent) in lieu of Oda Nobukatsu, invaded Korea. |
| 1598 | 16 December | Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) have ended with Japanese retreat after Battle of Noryang. |
17th century
18th century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1703 | 20 March | Chūshingura – Forty-seven ronin were ordered to commit seppuku by the shogun. |
| 1703 | 31 December | 1703 Genroku earthquake and tsunami |
| 1707 | 28 October | 1707 Hōei earthquake and tsunami, followed by Hōei eruption of Mount Fuji. |
| 1709 | 19 February | Tsunayoshi died. His nephew Tokugawa Ienobu succeeded him as shogun. |
| 1712 | | Wakan Sansai Zue, the first Japanese encyclopaedia, was published. |
| 1712 | 12 November | Ienobu died and was succeeded by his five-year-old son, Tokugawa Ietsugu, under the regency of the shogun's adviser Arai Hakuseki. |
| 1714 | 24 April | The currency system and trade rules were reformed. |
| 1716 | 19 June | Ietsugu died. Tokugawa Yoshimune, a great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became shogun. |
| 1720 | | The foreign books restrictions are reduced, starting a Rangaku practice. |
| 1730 | | Kyōhō Reforms aimed for monetization of economy and broader import of European knowledge have started. |
| 1745 | | Yoshimune retired, leaving his public office to his eldest son Tokugawa Ieshige, although he maintained some influence in the affairs of state. |
| 1754 | | 1754 Horeki River Improvement Incident |
| 1760 | | Ieshige retired, leaving his office to his eldest son Tokugawa Ieharu. |
| 1771 | 24 April | 1771 Great Yaeyama Tsunami |
| 1782 | | Great Tenmei famine |
| 1789 | | Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion on Hokkaido |
| 1790 | | Kansei Reforms, including Kansei Edict, tighten the isolation of Japan |
| 1792 | 21 May | 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami |
19th century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1806 | | Chwostoff raids on Japanese-controlled Kuril islands |
| 1807 | | Failed military expedition to Sakhalin |
| 1811 | | Golovnin Incident marks increasing contacts with the Russian Empire |
| 1825 | | Edict to Repel Foreign Vessels |
| 1833 | | Tenpo famine |
| 1837 | | Morrison incident |
| 1842 | | Tenpō Reforms lifts the price controls and further reduce contacts with Europeans. |
| 1848 | 1 July | The isolation policy of Tokugawa shogunate has began to crumble by the time of landing of Ranald MacDonald on Rishiri Island. |
| 1853 | 14 July | Mathew C. Perry arrives off the coast of Japan in four ships. Perry orders harbor buildings to be shelled to force negotiations for a letter President Millard Fillmore sent to the ruler of Japan. This incident was coined as the "Arrival of the Black Ships" in Japanese History. |
| 1854 | February | Second Visit. Mathew C. Perry returns to Japan with eight Black Ships and finds that the Shogunate had prepared a treaty accepting virtually all demands from President Millard Fillmore. |
| 1854 | March | Mathew C. Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa. Within five years, Japan signs similar treaties with other western countries, thus ending an isolation period of more than 200 years known as Sakoku (鎖国), whereby the Dutch and Chinese ships had limited trade exclusivity. |
| 1854 | 23 December | Ansei great earthquakes series starts by 1854 Tōkai earthquake and tsunami |
| 1855 | 7 February | Treaty of Shimoda with Russian Empire was signed. |
| 1855 | 11 November | Ansei great earthquakes series ends with a 1855 Edo earthquake followed by devastating fire. |
| 1858 | 26 August | Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce and other Ansei Treaties were signed, resulting in Ansei Purge. |
| 1862 | 14 September | Namamugi Incident: Four British subjects were attacked by guards on the Tōkaidō for failing to pay proper respect to a daimyo. One, a merchant named Charles Lennox Richardson, was killed. |
| 1863 | | Order to expel barbarians, Battle of Shimonoseki Straits, Bombardment of Kagoshima and other events |
| 1868 | | Boshin War resulting in Meiji Restoration and other events |
| 1871 | | Abolition of the han system, being replaced by a system of prefectures. |
| 1873 | | Seikanron: The government debated the invasion of Korea. |
| 1873 | | Land Tax Reform (Japan 1873) |
| 1874 | | Saga Rebellion |
| 1876 | | Akizuki Rebellion, Hagi Rebellion and Shinpūren Rebellion |
| 1877 | | Satsuma Rebellion |
| 1884 | | Chichibu incident - a peasants rebellion |
| 1891 | 28 October | 1891 Mino–Owari earthquake - strongest recorded inland earthquake of Japan |
| 1894 | 1 August | First Sino-Japanese War starts |
| 1895 | 17 April | First Sino-Japanese War is won by Japanese, resulting in Treaty of Shimonoseki |
| 1895 | 29 May | Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895) |
20th century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1904 | 8 February | Russo-Japanese War: Japan launched a surprise torpedo attack on the Russian navy at Port Arthur. |
| 1905 | 5 September | Russo-Japanese War: The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, ceding some Russian property and territory to Japan and ending the war. Pro-war activists have staged the Hibiya incendiary incident netherless. |
| 1910 | 22 August | Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 completes the annexation of Korea. |
| 1910 | December | Japanese Antarctic Expedition starts |
| 1914 | 31 October | Siege of Tsingtao starts as part of World War I |
| 1919 | 1 March | March 1st Movement signal the start of the Korean independence movement |
| 1923 | 1 September | 1923 Great Kantō earthquake |
| 1927 | | Shōwa financial crisis |
| 1930 | 27 October | Wushe incident - a rebellion on Taiwan |
| 1931 | 18 September | Japan invaded Manchuria in the aftermath of the Mukden Incident. |
| 1932 | 1 March | Manchukuo, the puppet state of Japan, is established |
| 1937 | 7 July | Second Sino-Japanese War starts. |
| 1940 | 22 September | Japanese invasion of French Indochina starts |
| 1941 | 13 April | Soviet-Japanese Border Wars ends as a Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed. |
| 1941 | 7 December | Japan Attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Japan has declared war to US, Dutch and British, marking the start of Pacific War theatre of World War II |
| 1945 | 6 August | Atomic bombings of Hiroshima |
| 1945 | 9 August | Atomic bombings of Nagasaki, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria starts and continues on as Kuril Islands dispute |
| 1945 | 15 August | Surrender of Japan |
| 1946 | 3 May | In the controversial International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the prosecution began of Japanese leaders for war crimes. |
| 1947 | 3 May | Constitution of Japan goes into effect. |
| 1956 | 12 December | Japan joins United Nations |
| 1964 | 10 October | 1964 Summer Olympics: Tokyo hosted the Olympics, marking the first time the Games were held in Asia. |
| 1968 | | Japan surpassed West Germany to become the second largest economic power in the world. |
| 1969 | 18 January | Student protests against the Vietnam War and American use of bases on Japanese soil culminated in a short-lived takeover of Tokyo University. |
| 1970 | 11 February | The first successful launch of the Lambda 4S rocket places the Japanese Osumi satellite on orbit. |
| 1971 | 24 November | 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement is ratified in the aftermath of the Koza riot and other incidents |
| 1974 | | Prime Minister Eisaku Satō, the first Asian to do so, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1989 | 29 December | The Tokyo Stock Market index, Nikkei 225, hits its peak at 38,957 before closing at 38,916 for the day |
| 1991 | | Lost Decade (Japan): The Japanese asset price bubble popped. |
| 1995 | 17 January | Great Hanshin earthquake |
| 1997 | 11 December | Kyoto Protocol to regulate greenhouse gases emissions was adopted. |
21st century
See also
- Cities in Japan
Further reading
- Published in the 19th century
- Published in the 20th century
- Published in the 21st century
- Ian Preston, ed. (2001). "Japan". Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia. Political Chronologies of the World. Europa Publications. pp. 121–140. ISBN 978-1-135-35680-4.
- Louis Frédéric (2002). "Chronology". Japan Encyclopedia. Translated by Käthe Roth. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
- Gary D. Allinson (2004). "Chronology". Japan's Postwar History (2nd ed.). Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-8912-1.
- "Timeline". Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire. USA: Public Broadcasting Service. 2004.
- Richard Tames (2008). "Chronology". A Traveller's History of Japan (4th ed.). USA: Interlink Books. p. 243+. ISBN 978-1-56656-404-5.
- Yoshio Sugimoto, ed. (2009). "Chronology". Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-49546-3.
- William D. Hoover (2011). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan. USA: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7539-5.
- Jasper Sharp (2011). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7541-8.
- Constantine Vaporis (2012). "Timeline ... 1543-1868". Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life During the Age of the Shoguns. USA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39200-9.
- Kenneth Henshall (2014). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
- Mikiso Hane; Louis Perez (2015). "Chronological Chart". Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey (2nd ed.). Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-4970-1.
External links