Meiji 15 (明治十五年)
Timeline of 1882
- 1882/1/4 An Imperial Rescript to the Military is issued.
- 1882/1/14 In a letter to King Kalakaua of Hawaii, Prince Komatsu Akihito gently rejects the king's suggestion that he wed the Hawaiian Princess Kaiulani.
- 1882/1/22 In a letter to King Kalakaua of Hawaii, Emperor Meiji humbly rejects the Hawaiian's suggestion to form a federation of Asiatic [and Pacific] nations under Japan's leadership, but expresses hopes that such a Union may be formed in the future.
- 1882/7 Jingo Uprising in Korea includes anti-Japanese riots. Rioters attack the Japanese legation in Seoul, and Japanese ambassador Hanabusa Yoshitada flees. A number of Japanese are killed.
Other Events of 1882
- US President Chester A. Arthur signs into law the Chinese Exclusion Act.
- William Sturgis Bigelow arrives in Japan.
- Hanoi falls to the French.
- Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru enters into negotiations with representatives of the Western powers over the revision of the Unequal Treaties. These negotiations continue until 1887, when they fall through.
- Robert Walker Irwin becomes the representative of Hawaii's Bureau of Immigration in Japan.
- M. Iwaya begins manufacturing cigarettes in Tokyo, marking the beginning of the shift from kiseru (and other smoking pipes) to cigarettes.
- John Kapena travels to Japan to deliver an official invitation to the coronation of King Kalakaua of Hawaii.
- The Kongô school of Noh publishes its first utai-bon.
- Edward Sylvester Morse returns to Japan for a number of months, and then returns to the US.
- Five Okinawan students - Ôta Chôfu, Jahana Noboru, Takamine Chôkyô, Nakijin Chôshin and Kishimoto Gashô - are sent to Tokyo as the first prefectural scholarship students.
- Taxes in Okinawa Prefecture traditionally paid in salt or rice are now permitted to be paid in cash; sugar taxes continue to be paid "in kind."
- State Shinto is officially separated from Sect Shinto.
- Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the US and Korea is signed.
- The second YMCA in Japan opens in Osaka.
- Yôga (Western-style paintings) are banned from the Teiten (Imperial Art Exhibitions).
Births and Deaths
- Antonio Fontanesi dies (b. 1818).
- Yôga painter Ishii Hakutei is born (d. 1958).
- Yamamoto Kanae, pioneer of the sôsaku hanga movement, is born (d. 1946).
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