1844

Tenpô 15 (天保十五年) / Kôka 1 (弘化元年)

Timeline of 1844

• 1844/5 The Honmaru and Ninomaru of Edo castle burn down.

Other Events of 1844

• China signs Treaties of Amity and Commerce with the United States (Treaty of Wangxia) and France (Treaty of Whampoa).
• The Dutch East India Company sends a letter to the shogunate from King William II warning that if the shogunate did not loosen its restrictions on foreign trade, sooner or later one of the other European powers would seek to use force to "open" Japan.
• French ship Alcmene calls at Ryukyu; drops off the Catholic missionary Theodore Augustin Forcade and leaves.
• The French secure from the Daoguang Emperor an edict of toleration for Christianity (severe proscriptions had been issued in 1724) in China.
• The Haiguo tuzhi by Wei Yuan is published in China. This is the first Chinese work to provide a realistic assessment of the extent of European expansion, and its impact on Asian trade and politics.
• The shogunate asks publishers Subaraya Mohei and Izumoji Bunjirô to reveal their sources for bukan (guidebooks to samurai houses); this is an indication that the source was not the shogunate itself.
• The Lord of Tsushima han forwards to the Korean court a request from the shogunate, that a Korean embassy journey to Osaka in 1846.
• Ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kunisada takes on the name of his teacher and becomes Toyokuni III.

Births and Deaths

• Basil Hall dies (b. 1788).
• Painter Kôno Bairei is born (d. 1895).
• Diplomat Mutsu Munemitsu is born.
• Shinsengumi member Nomura Risaburô is born.
• Shinsengumi commander Saitô Hajime is born.
• Teisai Hokuba dies (b. 1757).
• Shinsengumi commander Tôdô Heisuke is born.
• Shinsengumi member Tomikawa Jûrô is born.
• Uesugi Mochinori is born (d. 1919).

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