Meiji 4 (明治四年)
Timeline of 1871
- 1871/5/14 The government promulgates a decree stating that Shinto shrines offer the rites of the State.
- 1871/8/29 Abolition of the han
- 1871/11 Emperor Meiji is photographed for the first time, during an imperial visit to the Yokosuka Naval Yard.
Other Events of 1871
- The government bans the Ainu custom of burning one's house after the death of an occupant (a family member).
- The brothels of Fukagawa and Shin-Shimabara are forced to move into the Yoshiwara.
- A branch office of the Foreign Ministry is established in Okinawa.
- The hinin, eta, and other outcast classes are officially abolished.
- The Iwakura Mission departs Japan for the United States.
- Maebashi castle is torn down.
- Naegi castle is torn down.
- Police force formed.
- The shogunate school Shôhei-kô is closed.
- Sino-Japanese commercial treaty is signed, in which both countries agree to respect the territorial integrity of the other.
- Taiwan Incident of 1871 - a tribute ship from the Miyako Islands bound home from Okinawa is shipwrecked in Taiwan. Fifty-four Ryukyuans are killed by Taiwanese aborigines.
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