Timeline of Japanese history

This is a timeline of Japanese history. 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 timeline is incomplete; some important events may be missing. Please help add to it.

[edit] 17th century

Year	Date	Event
1603		Tokugawa Ieyasu received from the emperor the title of shogun.
1605		Ieyasu abdicated from office, his son and heir, Tokugawa Hidetada became shogun.
1623		Hidetada resigned the government to his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Iemitsu
1635		The Sakoku Edict of 1635 was issued, barring Japanese from leaving Japan and barring Europeans from entering, on pain of death. It instituted strict penalties for the practice of Catholicism and severely restricted foreign trade.
1635		The policy of Sankin kōtai was established, which subjected the daimyo to the will of the shogun.
1637	December 17	Shimabara Rebellion: A rebellion began against the daimyo Matsukura Katsuie over his persecution of Christianity and onerous tax code.
1638	April 15	Shimabara Rebellion: The last of the rebels were defeated in their fortress at Shimabara.
1651		Iemitsu died, leaving the Tokugawa dynasty at major risk. Tokugawa Ietsuna with only ten years old became shogun. Until he came of age, five regents were to rule in his place.
1651		Keian Uprising: A coup d'etat attempted by several ronin and masterminded by Yui Shōsetsu and Marubashi Chūya failed.
1680		Ietsuna died and was succeeded by his younger brother, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
		Some of Tsunayoshi's ridiculous laws, which prohibited the harming of dogs and ordered the establishment of dog kennels, earned him the nickname of "dog shogun".

Year	Date	Event
1709	February 19	Tsunayoshi died. His nephew Tokugawa Ienobu succeeded him as shogun.
		Ienobu transformed the bakufu from a military to a civilian institution, revised the Buke-Sho-Hatto, where language was improved and the gold coin was created to stabilize the economy
1712	November 12	Ienobu died and was succeeded by his five-year-old son, Tokugawa Ietsugu. The shogun's adviser Arai Hakuseki ruled as regent.
1714		Reform of the currency system and of trade rules.
1716	June 19	Ietsugu died. Tokugawa Yoshimune, a great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became shogun.
1745		Yoshimune retired, leaving his public office to his eldest son Tokugawa Ieshige, although he maintained some influence in the affairs of state.
1760		Ieshige retired, leaving his office to his eldest son Tokugawa Ieharu.

Year	Date	Event
1862	September 14	Namamugi Incident: Four British subjects were attacked on the Tōkaidō for failing to pay proper respect to a daimyo. One, a merchant named Charles Lennox Richardson, was killed.
1863	July 2	Representatives of the Satsuma Province refused to turn over Richardson's killers or pay an indemnity for his death.
1863	August 15	Bombardment of Kagoshima: Britain seized three Japanese warships to put pressure on the Satsuma Province. The Satsuma fired in anger on the British, who responded by shelling the city for several days.
1868	January 3	Chōshū and Satsuma forces occupied the Imperial household at Kyoto and persuaded Emperor Meiji to declare his restoration to full power.
1868	January 24	Tokugawa Yoshinobu assembled an army to capture Kyoto and obtain the rescindment of the imperial restoration.

Year	Date	Event
1904	February 8	Russo-Japanese War: Japan launched a surprise torpedo attack on the Russian navy at Port Arthur.
1905	September 5	Russo-Japanese War: The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, ceding some Russian property and territory to Japan and ending the war.
1938	July 29	Battle of Lake Khasan: The armed forces of Japanese Manchukuo attacked the Soviet military at Lake Khasan.
1938	August 31	Battle of Lake Khasan: The battle ended in a Japanese defeat.
1941	April 13	Soviet-Japanese Border Wars: A Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed.
1945	August 16	Operation August Storm: Soviet armed forces landed on Sakhalin.
	August 18	Operation August Storm: Soviet amphibious forces landed in Korea.
	August 20	Operation August Storm: The Soviet Union captured Changchun, the capital of Manchukuo.
	August 25	Operation August Storm: The Soviet Union captured Sakhalin's capital.

Year	Date	Event
2003	November 9	Japanese general election, 2003: The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) gained forty seats in the House of Representatives. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remained a plurality, but was forced to maintain its coalition with the New Komeito Party (NKP) and the New Conservative Party.
2003	November 19	The Diet reelected the incumbent Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi of the LDP.
2005	August 8	The House of Councillors voted down a bill to break up and privatize Japan Post.
	August 8	Koizumi dissolved the House of Representatives and called new elections for September 11.
	September 11	Japanese general election, 2005: The LDP coalition acquired a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, enabling it to pass bills without the consent of the House of Councillors.