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.
1881/3/4 King David Kalākaua of Hawaiʻi arrives in Yokohama. He becomes the first reigning monarch of a foreign country to visit Japan freely (i.e. not as a prisoner). During his 19-day stay in Japan, he meets with Emperor Meiji, proposes Japanese immigration to Hawaii, and suggests a marriage between Princess Kaiulani and Prince Yamashina Sadamaro (ultimately, the Japanese reject this latter proposition). Nagasaki Seigo serves as Kalakaua's interpreter and is later awarded the Royal Order of Kalākaua.
1881/3/22 Kalākaua departs Nagasaki for Shanghai.

The British Museum obtains the art collection of William Anderson, and appoints him curator.
The Second Domestic Exposition is held.
The Gen'yôsha (Black Ocean Society), an organization dedicated to lobbying for expansion into Korea, is founded.
The Meiji Emperor declares he will establish a National Diet nine years later.
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).
Prince Albert and his younger brother Prince George visit Japan.
The first Western-style songbook is published in Japan; it contains the original adaptation of "Auld Lang Syne" into Hotaru no hikari.
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.

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