asakusa-e.com/Chronology

We welcome your opinions, comments and illustrations!

Year	Events in Asakusa	National/International Events
６２８	Hamanari Hinokuma and his brother Takenari find a kannon statue in the Miyato River （present-day Sumida River） and Nakamoto Hajino builds the Senso-ji Temple to enshrine it.	Empress Suiko dies.
６４５	Shokai-Shonin stayed at Senso-ji temple to repair the main hall. The temple’s principle statue is closed to the public.	Taika no Kaishin （The Taika Reform）.
６７２		Jinshin War
７０１		The Taiho Code is enacted.
７１０		The capital is moved to Heijo-kyo （Nara）.
７２３		Sanze Isshin Law （which allowed ownership of newly arable fields for three generations） is enacted.
７４３		Konden Einen Shizai Law （which allowed the permanent ownership of newly arable fields） is enacted.
７８４		The capital is moved to Nagaoka-kyo （Kyoto）.
７９４		The capital is moved to Heian-kyo （Kyoto）.
８５７	Jikaku-Daishi carves and dedicates a seikannon statue to be used as the Senso-ji's omaedachi image.
８６６	Masakado Taira	Yoshifusa Fujiwara becomes regent.
８８７		Mototsune Fujiwara becomes chief advisor to the emperor.
８９４		Dispatch of envoy to the Tang Dynasty in China is abolished.
９３５		Masakado Taira Revolt （～ 940）
９３９		Sumitomo Fujiwara Revolt（～ 941）
９４２	Kinmasa Taira rebuilds Senso-ji's buildings and donates his rural land to the temple.
１０１６	Kiyomori Taira	Michinaga Fujiwara becomes regent.
１０８６		Leadership by the retired emperor begins.
１１５６		Hogen War.
１１５９		Heiji War.
１１６７		Kiyomori Taira becomes Grand Minister of State.
１１８０	Yoritomo Minamoto prays for victory over the Heike clan at Senso-ji.
１１８５	Yoritomo Minamoto	Heike clan falls. Deployment of estate stewards and provincial constables begins.
１１９２		Yoritomo Minamoto becomes the Seii-Taishogun （Ruling Shogun）.
１２２１		Jokyu Revolt.
１２３２		Goseibai Shikimoku （Court Regulations） established.
１２９７		Shogunate issues the first Tokusei-rei （decree canceling debts）.
１３３３		Kamakura shogunate falls.
１３３４		Kenmu no Shinsei （Kenmu restoration） begins.
１３３６		Emperor Godaigo moves to Yoshino.
１３３８		Takauji Ashikaga becomes the Seii-Taishogun （Ruling Shogun）.
１３５２	Ishihawa （Sumida River） War between Yoshioki ＆　Yoshimune Nitta and Takauji Ashikaga.
１３９２		Southern and Northern Courts merge.
１４０４		Trade begins between Japan and the Ming Dynasty in China.
１４２８		Shocho no Tsuchi Riot erupts.
１４６７		Onin War （～ 1477）
１４８５		Yamashiro no Kuni Riot erupts.
１４８８		Kaga no Ikko Riot erupts.
１５４３		Firearms introduced from Portugal.
１５４９		Christianity introduced by Francis Xavier. Trade with Europe begins.
１５６８		Nobunaga Oda enters Kyoto.
１５７３		Muromachi shogunate falls.
１５８２		Honno-ji no Hen coup. National land survey begins.
１５８８		Sword law enacted （Allowing only members of the samurai class to possess swords）.
１５８９	Tsunayoshi Hojo, castellan of Odawara Castle, rebuilds Senso-ji.
１５９０	Ieyasu Tokugawa designates Senso-ji as his official prayer hall and Zojo-ji as his family temple.	Hideyoshi Toyotomi completes national reunification.
１５９２	Ieyasu Tokugawa	Military dispatched to Korea (～ 1597）.
１６００		Sekigahara War erupts.
１６０３		Ieyasu Tokugawa becomes Seii-Taishogun （Ruling Shogun）.
１６１５		Hideyoshi Toyotomi falls. Buke Shohatto （laws regulating samurai houses） enacted.
１６１８	Toshogu shrine branch is built within the precincts of Senso-ji, and Zuishin-mon gate is completed.
１６３１	Senso-ji damaged in fire.
１６３６	Asakusa-Mitsuke Gate is built. Japan strengthens its seclusion policy, increasingly isolating itself from the outside world. Kanei-Tsuho coin comes into use.
１６３７		Shimabara War.
１６３９		Japan closes its doors to the world completely.
１６４２	Senso-ji damaged in fire.
１６４９	Third Tokugawa Shogun Iemitsu builds Asakusa Shrine. Senso-ji is rebuilt.	Keian no Ofuregaki （proclamation of the Keian era） is issued.
１６５４	Senso-ji exhibits its Buddhist statue, the first time for a temple to do so in Edo （present-day Tokyo）.
１６５７	Large-scale fire breaks out in Edo （present-day Tokyo）, forcing the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters in present-day Chuo Ward to be moved to Asakusa Nihon-Zutsumi.	Higashi Hongan-ji （Tokyo Hongan-ji） is moved to its current location. Jurohoshizaemon Mizuno kills Chobei Banzuiin.
１６７２	Emperor Reigen designates Senso-ji as a Chokugan-jo, an official place to perform prayer rituals for the imperial court.
１６８０	Hakuseki Arai	Tsunayoshi Tokugawa becomes Seii Taishogun.
１６８７		Shorui Awaremi no Rei （law prohibiting cruelty to animals） is enacted (～ 1709).
１７０９		Hakuseki Arai becomes key advisor to the government.
１７１６		Yoshimune Tokugawa launches the Kyoho no Kaikaku （Kyoho reform）.
１７４２		Kuji Osadamegaki （legal precedence） is adopted.
１７７２	Dempoin Temple is lost in a fire along with numerous ancient documents.
１７７４	Agatsuma Bridge is completed.	Okitsugu Tanuma becomes senior advisor to the emperor.
１７８３		Tenmei no Daikikin （great famine of Tenmei） occurs.
１７８７		Sadanobu Matsudaira launches the Kansei no Kaikaku （Kansei Reform）.
１８２５		An order to repel foreign ships is issued.
１８２８		Siebold Incident.
１８３６		Tenpo no Daikikin （great famine of Tenpo） occurs.
１８３８		Revolt led by Heihachiro Oshio.
１８４１		Tadakuni Mizuno launches Tenpo no Kaikaku （Tenpo Reform）.
１８４２	As part of the Tenpo reform, Nakamura-za theater is moved to 1-chome, Asakusa - Saruwaka-cho, and the Ichimura-za theater to 2-chome.
１８５２		Perry arrives in Ryukyu （present-day Okinawa）.
１８５３		Perry arrives in Uraga, Kanagawa Pref.
１８５４		Japan-US Treaty of Amity and Peace is signed.
１８５８		Japan-US Treaty of Amity and Trade is signed. Ansei no Taigoku （Ansei Purge）（～ 1859） takes place.
１８６３		Anglo-Satsuma War erupts.
１８６４		Shimonoseki War erupts. Shogunate attacks Choshu （present-day Yamaguchi）.
１８６５	Senso-ji's Kaminarimon Gate and neighboring buildings are lost in a fire.
１８６８		Meiji Restoration.
１８７０		Rickshaw transport begins in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
１８７１	Takanaka Teiunni donates the Genban Issai-kyo sutra to Senso-ji. Rinzo, a revolving sutra holder, is completed.	Abolition of clans and establishment of prefectures.
１８７３	Following a government order that each prefecture develop parks, the Senso-ji is designated Asakusa Park.	Enactment of a draft system and land tax reform law.
１８７４	Umaya Bridge is completed.	A written opinion calling for the establishment of a popularly elected parliamentary house is submitted.
１８７５		Karafuto-Chishima （Sakhalin-Kuril Islands） Exchange Treaty is signed between Japan and Russia.
１８７６		Japan-Korea Amity Treaty is signed.
１８７７		Seinan War erupts.
１８７８	Shitaya Ward and Asakusa Ward were born.	Toshimichi Okubo is assassinated.
１８７９		Okinawa Prefecture is established.
１８８１		Imperial decree issued for the establishment of the Diet. Liberal Party is formed.
１８８２	Horse-drawn streetcars start running between Asakusa-Namiki-cho and Suka-cho, and between Ueno-Yamashita and Kaminarimon.
１８８４	Asakusa Park is zoned into six areas.	Peerage Law is enacted.
１８８５		Cabinet system is introduced.
１８８７	A mock Mt. Fuji is built in the Rokku Area of Asakusa Park.
１８８９		Constitution of the Empire of Japan is adopted.
１８９０	Ryounkaku （Junikai） opens.	First Imperial Assembly is called. Imperial Rescript of Education is issued.
１８９４		Extraterritoriality is abolished. Japan-Sino War （～ 1895）.
１８９５		Shimonoseki Treaty. Tripartite Intervention.
１８９９	Aquarium opens in Yonku area.
１９００		Ashio Copper Mine pollution scandal.
１９０２		Anglo-Japanese Alliance （～ 1922）.
１９０３	Denkikan theater opens in Rokku, the first such building to house a movie house in Japan.
１９０４	Trams start running between Asakusabashi and Kaminarimon in February, and between Asakusa and Ueno in March.	Japanese-Russo War erupts. Yakumo Koizumi dies.
１９０５		Treaty of Portsmouth
１９０６		Railway Nationalization Law is enacted.
１９１０	Senso-ji Kyugosho （first aid center）, present-day Senso-ji Hospital, opens.	Japan annexes Korea.
１９１１	Kinryukan open in Rokku.	French movie Zigoma becomes a big hit. Twelve persons, including Shusui Kotoku, are executed.
１９１４		Japan take part in World War I.
１９１７	Heyday of Asakusa Opera. Kannon Theater opens next to Taishokan in Rokku.	Russian Revolution （March Revolution/November Revolution）.
１９２３	Large earthquake hits the Kanto region on September 1st, causing great damage to the lowland areas in Asakusa and devastating the Rokku entertainment district. Ryounkaku building collapses.	Great Kanto Earthquake. Bungei Shunju and Akahata were first published. Takeo Arishima died.
１９２５		Popular election is held. Maintenance of Public Order is issued.
１９２７	The first subway in Asia starts running between Asakusa and Ueno in December.	Financial Crisis. Ryunosuke Akutagawa dies by suicide. Iwanami Bunko first published.
１９２９	Revue performance starts in the Denkikan theater. The Casino Follies starts performances featuring Enoken. Yasunari Kawabata begins writing Asakusa Kurenaidan for a newspaper.	Proletarian literature flourishes. Shimizu Tunnel opens. World plunges into the Great Depression.
１９３１		Manchurian Incident.
１９３２		May 15th Incident.
１９３６		February 26th Incident.
１９３７	Asakusa International Theater opens in July.	Japanese-Sino War begins （～ 1945）. Japan-China Incident. Awarding of the Order of Cultural Merit begins.
１９４０		Tripartite Military Alliance among Japan, Germany and Italy.
１９４１		Neutrality Pact is signed between Japan and the Soviet Union. Pacific War （～ 1945）.
１９４５	An air raid in March completely destroys Asakusa. Everything is lost except Nitenmon and Dempoin.	World War II ends on August 15th. United Nations is established. A new election law giving equal voting rights to men and women is issued.
１９４６		Japanese Constitution is adopted. Agrarian reform.
１９４７	Asakusa Furansu-za opens in April. Asakusa Ward and Shitaya Ward are merged into Taito Ward.	Rokkuza opens in August. Compulsory educational system consisting of six-year elementary education and three-year secondary education is established.
１９５１	Asakusa Park is returned to Senso-ji. Work to fill in Hyotan-ike pond starts.	Peace treaty is signed between Japan led by prime minister Shigeru Yoshida and the US at the San Francisco Peace Conference.
１９５８	Following the enforcement of the Anti-Prostitution Law, teahouses in Yoshiwara close their doors. Asakusa Kannondo Hall is completed in October.	10,000 yen banknote is issued. Tokyo Tower is completed.
１９６０	Kaminarimon Gate is rebuilt in May, 95 years after it was lost in a fire.	New security treaty is signed between Japan and US, which intensifies anti-security alliance protests. Demonstration organized by Zengakuren （All-Japan League of Student Unions） reaches the Diet building. Inajiro Asanuma is killed. Color TV broadcasting begin.
１９６３	Shochiku Theater closes.	Official decoration system for living persons is established.
１９６４	Okuyama Theater closed. Hozomon Gate is completed.	Tokyo Olympics is held. Tokaido Bullet Train begins operation.
１９６５		Basic treaty is signed between Japan and Korea.
１９７３	Five-story pagoda is rebuilt.	Kim Dae Jung Abduction Incident. First Oil Crisis occurs, prompting Japanese people to rush to buy toilet paper and detergent.
１９７６	Chiyodakan, the oldest Denkikan theater in Japan, closes.	Lockheed Scandal surfaces. Quintuplets are born in Kagoshima.
１９７７	Yasuki-bushi performances end after a 40-year history in June. Asakusa Public Hall opens in October.	JAL flight hijacked by Japanese Red Army. Karaoke boom. Tracing one’s own roots becomes popular.
１９７８	Asakusa Kannon celebrates its 1,350th anniversary in March.	Narita International Airport opens.
１９８０	In January, Asakusa Public Hall hosts the first Asakusa Kabuki performance, the first kabuki performance in 22 years is held in Asakusa.	Defense Agency spy scandal. Sudden passing of Prime Minister Ohira. Singer Momoe Yamaguchi gives up her career to get married.
１９８１	In August, First Asakusa Samba Carnival is held, with dancers invited from Rio. Double-decker buses start running between Asakusa and Ueno.	Pope John Paul II makes his first visit to Japan. President Sadat of Egypt is assassinated.
１９８２	In April, SKD revue troupe gives its last performance ? the 51st Tokyo Odori ? at Asakusa International Theater, marking the end of the theater’s 50-year history. After the show, the theater is closed.	Princess Grace of Monaco dies in a car accident.
１９８３	Asakusa Rokkuza closes in March. Senso-ji’s Bentendo Hall is completed on March 28.	Former Filipino senator Aquino is assassinated. Keihaku-Tansho (light and compact) and Nekira/Neaka （gloomy/cheerful） become popular new words.
１９８４	A pedestrian bridge, Sakura Bridge, is completed across Sumida River. Asakusa View Hotel opens.
１９８５	Nakamise-dori celebrates its centennial anniversary. Senso-ji celebrates the 30th anniversary since its Buddhist statue was returned to the temple （October 18 - November 4）.