Timeline of 1879
- 1879/2 Peking urges Tokyo to not annex Ryûkyû as a prefecture.
- 1879/4 The Kingdom of Ryûkyû is dissolved and fully annexed into Japan as Okinawa Prefecture. King Shô Tai is granted the title of Marquis, assimilated into the new Japanese peerage, and removed to Tokyo. Nabeshima Naoyoshi becomes the first Governor of the prefecture.
- 1879/4 Shishidô Tamaki takes up his post as Japanese ambassador to China.
- 1879/6 Shô Tai informs the Chinese authorities in Tientsin of the abolition of the kingdom and creation of Okinawa Prefecture, and requests Chinese intervention.
Visit of Ulysses S. Grant to Japan
- 1879/1/18 Foreign Minister Terashima Munenari suggests to Prince Sanjô Sanetomi that Grant should be received as though he were a royal prince. The suggestion gets immediate approval.
- 1879/4/18 Renovation efforts under the direction of Inoue Kaoru, Minister of Public Works, transforming the Enryôkan into a suitable Western-style accommodation for Grant and his party are completed.
- 1879/6/21 Ulysses S. Grant arrives in Nagasaki harbor aboard the USS Richmond, accompanied by his wife and son, and John Russell Young, a New York Herald reporter who is represented to the Japanese as Grant's secretary.
- 1879/6/26 Grant's party departs Nagasaki for Yokohama, aboard the Richmond.
- 1879/7/3 Grant's party arrives in Yokohama, and is welcomed by a number of officials including Iwakura Tomomi. They travel to Tokyo by train.
- 1879/7/4 Grant is granted an audience with Emperor Meiji.
- 1879/7/8 Grant views a performance of Noh; he and his wife are the first Westerners to be the guests of honor at a "popular reception ... by the Japanese populace."
- 1879/7/17 Grant's party arrives in Nikkô.
- 1879/7/22 A conference is held in Nikkô to discuss the matter of sovereignty over Ryûkyû.
- 1879/7/31 Grant's party returns to Tokyo from Nikkô.
- 1879/8/10 Grant meets with Emperor Meiji and discusses the Ryûkyû issue.
- 1879/8/13 Grant composes a formal letter to Iwakura Tomomi and Prince Kung, suggesting that the two countries appoint representatives to enter into negotiations, and that no foreign power be invited into the discussions.
Other Events of 1879
Births and Deaths of 1879
- 31 August - Emperor Taishô is born. (d. 1926)
- 2 September - An Jung-geun, future assassin of Itô Hirobumi is born. (d. 1910)
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