1885

Meiji 18 (明治十八年)

Timeline of 1885

• 1885/2/8 Nine-hundred forty-four Japanese on board the ship City of Tokio arrive in the Hawaiian Islands, becoming the first Japanese immigrants to the islands.
• 1885/6/17 The Yamashiro Maru delivers 989 Japanese laborers to Hawaii.

Other Events of 1885

• John Bingham is succeeded as US minister to Japan.
• The cabinet system is instituted and Itô Hirobumi is named Prime Minister.
• A conference is held in Tokyo, where revision of the Unequal Treaties is discussed.
• The sixth Exhibition of Old Art includes new works for the first time.
• Government-contracted immigration of Japanese to Hawaii begins.
• Mori Arinori is named Minister of Education.
• John Murray's A Handbook for Travellers in Japan is published.
• Japan exhibits at the 1885 New Orleans World's Fair.
• Repair efforts are undertaken at Nijô castle.
• Saigô Tsugumichi becomes Minister of the Navy.
• The Sino-French War comes to an end. The Chinese are forced to renounce any claims to Vietnam.
• Three girls are enrolled in elementary school in Okinawa, setting a precedent for women's education.
• Tsubouchi Shôyô's The Essence of the Novel is published.

Births and Deaths

• Ulysses S. Grant dies (b. 1822).
• Iwasaki Yatarô of Mitsubishi Trading House dies (b. 1834).
• Art critic Kuroda Hôshin is born (d. 1967).
• Painter Maeda Seison is born (d. 1977).
• Morohashi Tetsuji is born (d. 1984).
• Harry Smith Parkes dies (b. 1828).
• Painter Yorozu Tetsugorô is born (d. 1927).

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1885

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