1881

Meiji 14 (明治十四年)

Timeline of 1881

• 1881/1/5 Japanese ambassador to China Shishido Tamaki informs the Chinese government that he considers the dispute over sovereignty over the Ryûkyû Islands to be settled.
• 1881/1/20 Shishido departs Peking.

Other Events of 1881

• The British Museum obtains the art collection of William Anderson, and appoints him curator.
• The Second Domestic Exposition is held.
• King Kalakaua of Hawaii becomes the first reigning monarch of a foreign country to visit Japan freely (i.e. not as a prisoner). He meets with Emperor Meiji, proposes Japanese immigration to Hawaii, and suggests a marriage between Princess Kaiulani and Prince Komatsu Akihito (ultimately, the Japanese reject this latter proposition). Nagasaki Seigo serves as Kalakaua's interpreter and is later awarded the Royal Order of Kalakaua.
• The territory formerly defining Obama han, previously a part of Shiga prefecture, is absorbed into Fukui prefecture.
• The ni-no-maru of Kanazawa castle is destroyed by fire.
• The home of artist Kobayashi Kiyochika, along with his possessions, is destroyed by fire.
• Ômura Shigenobu founds the Progressive Party (Kaishintô).
• The Tokyo National Museum opens in its current location, organized around a two-story brick building designed by Josiah Conder.
• Uesugi Mochinori succeeds Nabeshima Naoyoshi as Governor of Okinawa Prefecture.

Births and Deaths

• Painter Kawakami Tôgai dies (b. 1827).
• Langdon Warner is born (d. 1955).

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