Bunka 5 (文化五年)
Timeline of 1808
- 1808/4 Mamiya Rinzô surveys Sakhalin.
- 1808/6 Sakhalin is confirmed to be an island, and not a peninsula of the Asian mainland.
- 1808/8/25-28 Phaeton Incident - HMS Phaeton enters Nagasaki harbor, with the intention of attacking Dutch East India Company ships, capturing several Dutchmen, and threatening Japanese and Chinese as well. The Phaeton eventually leaves after receiving supplies and learning that the Dutch ships would not be arriving that year.
Other Events
- Kabuki play Kuruwa Bunshô premieres.
Births and Deaths
- 1808/9/27 Chiba Saburôemon and Kanbara Jiemon, Saga samurai and heads of the defenses at Nagasaki, are ordered to commit seppuku.
- Nagasaki bugyô Matsudaira Yasuhira commits suicide.
- Kabuki playwright Namiki Gohei I dies (b. 1747).
- Udono Kyûô, head of the Roshigumi, is born (d. 1869).
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1808 | Following Year 1809 |