Ansei 5 (安政五年)
Timeline of 1858
- 1858/4/23 Ii Naosuke is named Tairô.
- 1858/4/25 (June 6) Joseph Heco (Hamada Hikozô) becomes the first Japanese to naturalize as a US citizen.
- 1858/5 The Treaty of Tientsin is signed but not ratified by the Qing Empire, marking the end of the first stage of the Second Opium War, but the war continues until 1860.
- 1858/5/27-30 A Ryukyuan mission to Edo arrives in Kagoshima, but the mission is ultimately canceled in the 7th month and returns home to Ryûkyû.
- 1858/6/19 Harris Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between Japan and the United States.
- 1858/6/23 Hotta Masayoshi and Matsudaira Tadakata are dismissed from their positions as rôjû, and are replaced with Manabe Akikatsu, Ôta Sukemoto, and Matsudaira Noriyasu.
- 1858/6/25 Tokugawa Yoshitomi is declared shogunal heir.
- 1858/7/3 Ichiki Shirô of Satsuma han receives various secret orders from Shimazu Nariakira, including plans for obtaining a military steamship, and enters into discussions with the French. Upon Nariakira's sudden death, these discussions are halted.
- 1858/7/4 Ansei Purges begin.
- 1858/7/10 Dutch-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between Japan and the Netherlands.
- 1858/7/11 Russo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between Japan and Russia.
- 1858/7/18 Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between Japan and the United Kingdom. High Commissioner to China James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin is the chief British representative and signatory.
- 1858/8/15-9 The Comet Donati is observed in Okinawa.
- 1858/9/3 Franco-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between Japan and France. Baron Gros is the chief French representative and signatory.
- 1858/10/25 Tokugawa Iemochi becomes shogun.
Other Events of 1858
- A cholera epidemic strikes across the country, killing 100,000 in Edo alone.
- Morita-za kabuki theatre in Edo changes its name to incorporate the kanji for "protection".
- Fukuzawa Yukichi founds a school of Western learning which would later become Keiô University.
- Matsura Akira becomes lord of Hirado han.
- Shimazu Tadayoshi succeeds Shimazu Nariakira as daimyô of Satsuma han; his father Shimazu Hisamitsu serves as regent.
- The Treaty of Paris ends the Crimean War.
- The Mughal Dynasty falls in India.
Births and Deaths
- 1858/1/25 Mikimoto Kôkichi, pioneer pearl farmer, is born (d. 1954).
- 1858 March 4 - Commodore Matthew Perry dies (b. 1794).
- 1858/5/24 Tokugawa Yoshinori, daimyô of Owari han, is born (d. 1875).
- 1858/7/6 Shogun Tokugawa Iesada dies (b. 1824).
- 1858/7/16 Shimazu Nariakira, daimyô of Satsuma han, dies of food poisoning (b. 1809).
- 1858/7/16 Takami Senseki dies (b. 1785).
- 1858/9/2 Yanagawa Seigan, poet, dies (b. 1789).
- 1858/10/27 Saitô Makoto, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral and Prime Minister of Japan, is born (d. 1936).
- 1858/12/5 Inoue Taisuke, nephew of Shinsengumi captain Inoue Genzaburô, is born (d. 1927).
- Inoue Enryô is born (d. 1919).
- Kang Youwei is born (d. 1927).
- Suzuki Kiitsu dies (b. 1796).
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