1923 in Japan

Events in the year 1923 in Japan. It corresponds to Taishō 12 (大正12年) in the Japanese calendar.

← 1922 1921 1920 1923 in Japan → 1924 1925 1926
Decades:	1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
See also:	Other events of 1923 History of Japan  • Timeline  • Years

Incumbents

• Emperor: Taishō[1]
• Regent: Hirohito
• Prime Minister:
  • Katō Tomosaburō (until August 24)
  • Yamamoto Gonnohyōe (from September 2)

Events

Marunouchi in Tokyo in flames after the Great Kantō earthquake.

• April unknown date – Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical was founded, as predecessor part of Astellas Pharma.
• May – 1923 Far Eastern Games held in Osaka.
• August 24 – Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburō dies in office.
• August 29 – Fuji Electric Manufacturing, later Fuji Electric was founded.
• September 1 – The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing an estimated 142,807 people, but according to a Japanese construction research center report in 2005, 105,000 are confirmed dead. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes.[2]
• September 1-21 - Kantō Massacre: Young Japanese vigilante groups, driven by rumors of a Korean revolt, attack and murder thousands of Korean residents.
• September 2
  • Yamamoto Gonnohyōe is appointed Prime Minister of Japan.
  • Martial law declared in Tokyo districts
• September 3–5 – Kameido incident
• September 4 – The area of martial law is expanded to cover all of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama prefectures.
• September 7 – A Curfew is issued in Tokyo.
• September 16 – Amakasu Incident: The feminist Noe Itō and her partner, the anarchist Sakae Ōsugi are beaten and killed by a police squadron led by Lieutenant Amakasu Masahiko, along with Ōsugi's six-year-old nephew, and their bodies disposed in a well. Following countrywide outcry, Amakasu was court-martialed and sentenced to 10 years in prison.[3]
• December 27 – Toranomon Incident: An assassination attempt is made on the crown prince Hirohito in Tokyo by Daisuke Namba, but the attempt fails.
• Unknown date –Yamanouchi Pharmacy, as predecessor of Astellas was founded.

Births

• March 27 – Shūsaku Endō, writer (d. 1996)
• May 24 – Seijun Suzuki, filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
• June 4 – Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, wife of Prince Takahito
• August 7 – Ryōtarō Shiba, writer (d. 1996)
• October 7 – Tomio Aoki, film actor (d. 2004)

Deaths

• January 8 – Shimamura Hayao, Marine Admiral (b. 1858)
• February 3 – Kuroki Tamemoto general (b. 1844)
• February 4 – Prince Fushimi Sadanaru, Field Marshal (b. 1858)
• April 1 – Prince Naruhisa Kitashirakawa, military personnel (b. 1887)
• June 9
  • Takeo Arishima, novelist, writer and essayist (suicide) (b. 1878)
  • Akiko Hatano, journalist (suicide) (b. 1894)
• June 19 – Shō Shō, member of the House of Peers (b. 1888)
• August 24 – Katō Tomosaburō, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1861)
• September 1 – Matsuoka Yasukowa, politician and cabinet minister (B. 1846)
• September 2 – Kuriyagawa Hakuson, literary critic (b. 1880)
• September 16
  • Noe Itō, anarchist, social critic and author (b. 1895)
  • Sakae Ōsugi, anarchist (b. 1885)
• November 8 – Fusakichi Omori, seismologist (b. 1868)
• November 26 – Otani Kikuzo, general (b. 1856)
• December 29 – Kōno Hironaka, politician (b. 1849)

See also

• List of Japanese films of the 1920s

References

1. "Taishō | emperor of Japan". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. James, Charles. "The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire" (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
3. Cybriwsky, Roman (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tokyo. Scarecrow Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8108-7489-3.