1899

Meiji 32 (明治三十二年)

Timeline of 1899

• 1899/12 The first Okinawan emigrants bound for Hawaii leave Okinawa.

Other Events of 1899

• A Former Natives Protection Law seeks to remedy the Ainu's rapid loss of land and resources to Japanese colonists and others. The Law provides land to Ainu, along with seeds, tools, and other materials, forbidding this land from being sold without official authorizations. Ainu are mandated to farm this land, and their financial assets are seized by the government, to be used to protect or otherwise benefit the Ainu as the government sees fit.
• Ise Shrine is rebuilt.
• The first Japanese Citizenship Law is passed, formally establishing Japanese citizenship and the conditions for naturalization.
• Kutsuna Korejirô founds the Kawamata Silk Refining Company.
• The Okinawa Prefecture Land Reorganization Law converts much communal land in Okinawa into private land, and replaces the complex system of taxes formerly paid in various forms (grain, etc.) by farmers to the Ryukyuan royal government with a single monetary land tax paid to the prefectural government.
• Shuri Ward petitions the central government for ownership/control of the Shuri castle grounds so that the castle can be restored and maintained, and so that the grounds can be put to use as a public park. The petition is denied.
• Torii Shinjirô establishes Torii Shôten, the predecessor to the Suntory Beverage Company.

Births and Deaths

• Painter Harada Naojirô dies (b. 1863).
• Art historian Higa Chôken is born (d. 1945).
• Katsu Kaishû dies (b. 1823).
• Writer Kawabata Yasunari is born (d. 1972).

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