Timeline of Tokyo

The following is a timeline of the history of Tokyo, Japan.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 19th century

• 1457 - Edo Castle built.^[1]
• 1617 - Yoshiwara (prostitution district) begins operating.^[2]
• 1634 - Sankin-kōtai policy established.^[3]
• 1657 - March 2: Great Fire of Meireki occurs.^[4]
• 1682 - 1682 Edo fire [ja].^[5]
• 1698 - 1698 Edo fire [ja].^[5]
• 1707 - December: Eruption of Mount Fuji; ash falls on Edo.^[5]
• 1721 - "First population census conducted (Edo’s population about 1.3 million)."^[4]

19th century

• 1853
  • July 8: American Perry Expedition arrives in Edo Bay.
  • Odaiba island forts built in Edo Bay.
  • Hanayashiki garden opens.^[2]
• 1855 - November 11: 1855 Edo earthquake occurs.
• 1856 - Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo published.
• 1868 - Edo renamed "Tokyo."^[4]
• 1869
  • Japanese imperial capital relocated to Tokyo from Kyoto.^[6]
  • Tokyo Shôkonsha (shrine) established.^[6]
  • Yokohama-Tokyo telegraph begins operating.^[7]
• 1871 - Esaki Reiji photo studio in business.^[8]
• 1872
  • Yushima Seido Exposition is held
  • October: Yokohama-Tokyo railroad begins operating.^[9]
  • Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun (newspaper) begins publication.
  • "Ordinances aimed at the civilizing of the populace are enacted in Tokyo."^[7]
  • Imperial Library headquartered in Tokyo.^[10]
• 1873 - Dai-Ichi Bank established.^[11]
• 1874 - Aoyama Gakuin school and Saint Paul's school established.^[6]
• 1877
  • University of Tokyo^[7] and Fifteen Bank [ja]^[11] established.
  • National Industrial Exhibition held.^[12]
• 1880 - Mitsubishi Bank and Yasuda Bank established.^[13]
• 1881
  • Tokyo Imperial Museum built.^[14]
  • Tokyo Vocational School founded.
• 1882
  • Bank of Japan headquartered in city.^[11]
  • Ueno Zoo opens.^[15]
• 1884 - Railway Yamanote Line begins operating.^[9]
• 1886 - "First fixed advertising billboard in Tokyo" installed.^[16]
• 1887 - Tokyo School of Art [ja] founded.^[7]
• 1888
  • Tokyo Asahi Shimbun (newspaper) begins publication.
  • Tokyo Observatory [ja] established.
• 1889
  • "Tokyo City and 15 wards established."^[4]
  • Kabuki-za (theatre) opens.^[2]
• 1890
  • Telephone begins operating.^[7]
  • Population: 1,155,290.^[17]
• 1894 - Tokyo-fu Government Building constructed in Marunouchi.^[4]
• 1897 - March: Motion picture first shown.^[18]

20th century

1900s-1940s

• 1901 - Tokyo Photography Circle (club) formed.^[8]
• 1902 - Industrial Bank of Japan headquartered in city.^[11]
• 1903
  • Electric tram begins operating.^[19]
  • Electric Hall (cinema) opens.^[2]
• 1905 - September 5: Hibiya Incendiary Incident occurs.^[1]
• 1906 - Harajuku Station opens.
• 1907 - Tokyo Industrial Exhibition held.^[12]
• 1910 - Luna Park opens.
• 1911 - Imperial Theatre opens.^[20]
• 1914
  • December: Central Station opens.^[9]
  • Taisho Exposition held.^[7]
• 1916 - Tokyo Photographers Guild established.^[8]
• 1917 - Asakusa Opera [ja] active.^[21]
• 1918
  • Rice riot occurs.^[7]
  • Neon light installed in Ginza.^[16]
• 1920
  • Meiji Shrine built.^[6]
  • Population: 3,699,428.^[4]
• 1921 - November 4: Japanese prime minister Takashi Hara assassinated.^[1]
• 1923 - September 1: 1923 Great Kantō earthquake occurs.^[22]
• 1925 - Tokyo Broadcasting Station [ja] begins operating.^[23][18]
• 1926
  • "Public apartment housing" built.^[7]
  • NHK Symphony Orchestra^[24] and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum established.
• 1927 - Tokyo Underground Railway begins operating between Asakusa and Ueno.^[7]
• 1928 - Daiba Park [ja] opens in Tokyo Bay.
• 1929 - Tokyo March song/film become popular.^[25]
• 1930 - Population: 4,986,913.^[17]
• 1931 - Haneda Airport begins operating.^[4]
• 1933 - Dai-Ichi Seimei Building constructed.
• 1934
  • Yomiuri Giants baseball team formed.^[26]
  • Hibiya Theatre [ja] opens.^[20]
• 1936
  • Konishiroku Honten in business.^[27]
  • Japanese Folk Crafts Museum founded.^[28]
• 1937 - Korakuen Stadium opens.^[26]
• 1938 - Rikugi-en (park) opens.
• 1940 - Population: 6,778,804.^[17]
• 1941
  • Port of Tokyo opens.^[4]
  • Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo opens.^[29]
• 1942 - April: Bombing of Tokyo by US forces begins.
• 1943 - "Metropolitan administration system established."^[4]
• 1945
  • 10 March: A major air attack kills 90,000 to 100,000 people and destroys a quarter of the city's buildings
  • August: Bombing of Tokyo by US forces ends.
  • Japan Savings Bank [ja] established.^[11]
  • Population: 3,488,284.^[30]
• 1946 - Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal begins.^[23]
• 1947
  • Seiichirō Yasui elected governor.^[4]
  • 23 Special wards of Tokyo created.^[4]
• 1948 - National Diet Library headquartered in Tokyo.^[10]

1950s-1990s

• 1950 - Population: 6,277,500.^[30]
• 1955
  • Tokyo International Trade Fair begins.^[31]
  • Population: 6,966,499.^[17]
• 1956 - City hosts the 1956 World Judo Championships.
• 1958
  • Japanese National Stadium opens.
  • May: 1958 Asian Games held in Tokyo.
  • November: City hosts the 1958 World Judo Championships.
• 1961
  • Suntory Art Museum [ja] opens.
  • Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishôken ramen shop in business.^[32]

1964 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

• 1964
  • Tōkaidō Shinkansen (hi-speed train) begins operating;^[33]
  • October: 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.^[22]
  • Tokyo 12 Channel TV begins broadcasting.^[16]
  • Hotel New Otani Tokyo built.
• 1967
  • January: City hosts the 1967 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.
  • Yoyogi Park created.
• 1968
  • Kasumigaseki Building (hi-rise) built.
  • Ramen Jiro eatery in business.^[32]
• 1969 - "Tokyo Metropolitan Pollution Control Ordinance [ja] enacted."^[4]
• 1971 - Keio Plaza Hotel (hi-rise) built.
• 1971 - The Zengakuren demonstrate in Tokyo against terms for the return of Okinawa from US to Japanese control.
• 1972 - Nakagin Capsule Tower built.
• 1973 - Tokyo Metropolitan Library opens.^[10]
• 1975
  • Ward mayoral election held.^[4]
  • Population: 8,640,000 city; 11,622,651 urban agglomeration.^[34]
• 1979 - June: 5th G7 summit held in city.
• 1988
  • Tokyo Dome (stadium) opens.^[26]
  • Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome established.^[35]
• 1989 - Bunkamura cultural venue opens.
• 1991 - Metropolitan government relocates to new building in Shinjuku.^[4]
• 1993
  • Rainbow Bridge opens.^[4]
  • DN Tower 21 built.
• 1995 - March 20: Tokyo subway sarin attack.^[22]
• 1996 - Tokyo Big Sight convention centre opens.
• 2000 - Population: 8,130,408.^[36]

21st century

• 2001
  • 10 March: Tokyo Stadium open.
  • October: Asian Network of Major Cities 21 meets in Tokyo.^[4]
• 2002 - Tokyo International Anime Fair begins.
• 2004 - ShinGinkō Tokyo [ja] bank established.^[4]
• 2005 - Tokyo Metropolitan University established.^[4]
• 2006 - Czech Centre in Tokyo opens.^[37]
• 2007
  • Tokyo Marathon begins.^[4]
  • Midtown Tower built.
  • Shinjuku Wald 9 cinema in business.^[20]
• 2008 - C40 environmental group meets in Tokyo.^[4]
• 2010 - City hosts the 2010 World Judo Championships.
• 2011
  • 11 March: 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami occurs and seriously Fukushima nuclear disaster.^[4]
  • 17 November: Polish Institute in Tokyo founded (see also Japan–Poland relations).^[38]

Tokyo Skytree

• 2012
  • Tokyo Gate Bridge opens.^[4]
  • Tokyo Skytree tower built.^[4]
• 2013 - September: Tokyo chosen as site of the future 2020 Summer Olympics.^[22]
• 2014
  • Toranomon Hills (hi-rise) built.
  • Yoichi Masuzoe elected governor.^[39]
• 2016 - Yuriko Koike elected governor.^[40]
• 2017
  • 25 November: Musashino Forest Sport Plaza open.
• 2019
  • August: Oi Hockey Stadium open.
  • August–September: City hosts the 2019 World Judo Championships.
  • October: Ariake Gymnastics Centre open.
  • 28 November-1 December: 2019 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships held.
  • New Japan National Stadium open.
  • Hungarian Cultural Center in Tokyo opened (see also Hungary–Japan relations).^[41]
• 2020
  • 24 January: First confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Tokyo.^[42]
  • 3 February: Ariake Arena open.
  • March: Ultimately postponement of 2020 Summer Olympics to July 2021 announced due to COVID-19 concerns.
  • October: Tokyo Aquatics Centre open.
• 2021
  • 2020 Summer Olympics held.
  • 2020 Summer Paralympics held.

See also

• History of Tokyo, and "significant events" sections
• List of governors of Tokyo [ja]

References

1. Cybriwsky 2011, p. xvii: "Chronology"
2. Mansfield 2009.
3. Guth 1996.
4. "Historical Calendar of Tokyo". Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Retrieved July 30, 2015. (timeline)
5. Meech 2008.
6. "Timeline of Religion and Nationalism in Meiji and Imperial Japan". About Japan: a Teacher’s Resource. New York: Japan Society. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
7. "Timeline of Modern Japan (1868-1945)". About Japan: a Teacher’s Resource. New York: Japan Society.
8. "Chronology". History of Japanese Photography. USA: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 2003. ISBN 978-0-300-09925-6.
9. Freedman 2011.
10. "Institutions in Japan: Browse by Region (Kinki)". Research Access in Japanese Museums, Libraries, and Archives Resources. North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
11. Norio Tamaki (1995). "Genealogy of leading Japanese banks, 1859-1959". Japanese Banking: A History, 1859-1959. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02233-0.
12. "Expositions: where the modern technology of the times was exhibited". Tokyo: National Diet Library. 2011.
13. Glyn Davies; Roy Davies (2002). "Comparative Chronology of Money" – via University of Exeter.
14. "Japan, 1800–1900 A.D.: Key Events". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
15. Vernon N. Kisling, ed. (2000). "Zoological Gardens of Japan (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
16. Brian Moeran (1996). "Chronology of Japanese Advertising and Media from 1862 to 1991". A Japanese Advertising Agency: An Anthropology of Media and Markets. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-1-136-79533-6.
17. Ayanori Okasaki (1957). "Growth of Urban Population in Japan". Genus. 13 (1/4): 132–152. JSTOR 29787368.
18. Jasper Sharp (2011). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7541-8.
19. Kenneth Henshall (2014). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. USA: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
20. "Movie Theaters in Tokyo". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
21. Toru Mitsui, ed. (2014). Made in Japan: Studies in Popular Music. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-95534-2.
22. BBC News (7 October 2011). "Japan Profile: Timeline". BBC News. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
23. Yoshio Sugimoto, ed. (2009). "Chronology". Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-49546-3.
24. Colin Lawson, ed. (2003). "Orchestras Founded in the 20th Century (chronological list)". Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00132-8.
25. Daisuke Miyao, ed. (2013). Oxford Handbook of Japanese Cinema. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973166-4.
26. Cybriwsky 2011.
27. History Timeline, Konica Minolta, retrieved July 30, 2015
28. "Japan, 1900 A.D.-present: Key Events". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
29. "Storia". Istituto italiano di Cultura Tokyo (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
30. "Population of capital city and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 1955. New York: Statistical Office of the United Nations.
31. "Chronology". Tokyo, 1955-1970: a New Avant-garde. New York: Museum of Modern Art. 2012. ISBN 978-0-87070-834-3.
32. "Timeline of Ramen Development", Lucky Peach, January 2015, archived from the original on January 14, 2015
33. Christopher P. Hood (2006). "Chronology". Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-36089-5.
34. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office (1976). "Population of capital city and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 1975. New York. pp. 253–279.
35. "Garden Search: Japan". London: Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
36. "Japan". Europa World Year Book. Europa Publications. 2004. ISBN 978-1-85743-254-1.
37. "O nás". České centrum Tokio (in Czech). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
38. "O nas". Instytut Polski w Tokio (in Polish). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
39. "Japanese Mayors". City Mayors.com. London: City Mayors Foundation. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
40. "Tokyo elects Yuriko Koike as first female governor", BBC News, 1 August 2016
41. "Elérhetőség". Magyar Kulturális Központ Tokió (in Hungarian). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
42. "新型コロナウイルスに関連した感染症の患者の発生について". 東京都福祉保健局. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-03-26.

This article incorporates information from the Japanese Wikipedia.

Bibliography

• William Henry Overall, ed. (1870). "Jeddo". Dictionary of Chronology. London: William Tegg. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t9m32q949 – via HathiTrust.
• Christine Guth (1996). Art of Edo Japan: The Artist and the City 1615-1868. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16413-8.
• Julia Meech and Jane Oliver, ed. (2008). Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680-1860. Asia Society and Japanese Art Society of America. ISBN 978-0-295-98786-6.
• Stephen Mansfield (2009). Tokyo: a Cultural History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-972965-4.
• Roman Adrian Cybriwsky (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tokyo (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7489-3. + Chronology
• Alisa Freedman (2011). Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-7145-0.
• "Timeline". Tokyo (10th ed.). Lonely Planet. 2015. ISBN 978-1-74360-032-0.

External links