Events in the year 1914 in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It corresponds to Taishō 3 (大正3年) in the

Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with t ...

Incumbents

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

: Taishō *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

: **

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and twice Prime Minister of Japan from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1923 to 1924. Biography Early life Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as the sixth son ...

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...

Governors

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

: Matsui Shigeru *Akita Prefecture: Toyosuke Haneda (until 28 May); Saburo Sakamoto (starting 28 May) *Aomori Prefecture: Takeo Tanaka (until 28 April); Matsujiro Obama (starting 28 April) *Ehime Prefecture: Renarto Fukamachi *Fukui Prefecture: Teru Kagawa (until 9 June); Sato Kozaburo (starting 9 June) *Fukushima Prefecture:

Ota Masahiro OTA or ota may stand for: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Off the Air'', an Adult Swim television series * Otakon, an annual anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland Electronics, science, and technology * Ochratoxin A (also termed OTA), a mycoto ...

*Gifu Prefecture:

Shimada Gotaro Shimada may refer to: *Shimada (surname), a Japanese surname * Shimada (city), Shizuoka, Japan ** Shimada-juku **Shimada Station *Shimada (hairstyle) is the term used for a number of traditional Japanese hairstyles considered to be distinc ...

*Gunma Prefecture:

Muneyoshi Oshiba Muneyoshi is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, Japanese agricultural scholar *, Japanese sumo wrestler See also *, Japanese samurai under the Tokugawa clan, whose name was misread b ...

(until 28 April);

Miyake Gennosuke Miyake may refer to: Places * Miyake, Nara, a town located in Kansai * Miyake, Tokyo, a village located in Tokyo * Miyakejima, an island in the Izu Islands, often shortened to Miyake * Miyakezaka, a neighborhood in Chiyoda, Tokyo, often shortened t ...

(starting 28 April) *

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

Terada Yushi Terada Yushi (January 27, 1851 – March 14, 1917) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Tottori Prefecture (1901-1906), Okayama Prefecture (1906-1908), Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region ...

*Hyogo Prefecture: Seino Chotarno *

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

Keisuke Sakanaka Keisuke (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese general *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, Japanese footballer * ...

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

Kiichirō Kumagai Kiichirō Kumagai ( ja, 熊谷喜一郎; May 26, 1866 – October 9, 1949) was the first Director of the Karafuto Agency (1905–1907). He was governor of Yamanashi Prefecture (1908–1913) and Ishikawa Prefecture (1914–1915). He was a graduat ...

(until month unknown) *Iwate Prefecture: Sadajiro Tsutsumi (until 9 January); Rinpei Otsu (starting 9 January) *Kagawa Prefecture: Kogoro Kanokogi (until 9 June); Takeji Kawamura (starting 9 June) *Kochi Prefecture: Kinjiro Nagai (until 9 June); Toki Kahei (starting 9 June) *

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

Akahoshi Futoshi Akahoshi (written: 赤星 lit. "red star") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Iris Akahoshi Iris Akahoshi (March 14, 1929, Czechoslovakia – July 24, 1987, U.S.) was an American human rights activist who became know ...

(until 28 April); Kawakami Shinhare (starting 28 April) * Kyoto Prefecture: Shoichi Omori *Mie Prefecture: Magoichi Tahara (until 28 April);

Eitaro Mabuchi was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Yamagata Prefecture (1906-1912), Yamaguchi Prefecture (1914-1916), Mie Prefecture (1914-1916), Hiroshima Prefecture from April 1916 to May 1918, Kyoto Prefecture (1918-1921) and mayor of Kyot ...

(starting 28 April) *

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

Mori Masataka Mori is a Japanese and Italian surname, and also a Persian pet name for Morteza. It is also the name of two clans in Japan, and one clan in India. Italian surname * Barbara Mori, Uruguayan-Mexican actress *Camilo Mori, Chilean painter *Cesa ...

(until 28 April); Magoichi Tahara (starting 28 April) *Miyazaki Prefecture: Tadakazu Ariyoshi *

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

Ichiro Yoda Ichiro Yoda (1860 – September 28, 1933) was a Japanese politician who served as the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from July 1921 to October 1922. Prior to that, he served as the governor of Gunma Prefecture (1912), and of Nagano Prefecture ...

(until 28 April); Yuichiro Chikaraishi (starting 28 April) *

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

: Ando Kensuke (until 28 April);

(starting 28 April) *

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

: Takuya Takahashi (until 9 June); Kyūgorō Ōmi (starting 9 June) *

Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...

: Marques Okubo Toshi Takeshi *

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

Fuwa The Fuwa (; literally "good-luck dolls", also known as "Friendlies") were the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The designs were created by Han Meilin, a famous Chinese artist. The designs were publicly announced by the Nationa ...

(until 9 June);

Raizo Wakabayashi was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Shimane Prefecture (1908), Nara Prefecture (1909-1913), Yamanashi Prefecture (1913-1914), Saga Prefecture (1914-1915), Kagawa Prefecture (1915-1917), Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture o ...

(starting 9 June) *

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

: Soeda Keiichiro (until 9 June);

Akira Masaya Akira Masaya ( ja, 昌谷彰) (1870–1946) was a Director of the Karafuto Agency (1916–1919, 1924–1926). He was governor of Ōita (1911–1913) and Saitama Prefecture (1914–1916). He was a graduate of the University of Tokyo , abbrev ...

(starting 9 June) *Shiname Prefecture: Takaoka Naokichi (until 28 April); Ichiro Oriharami (starting 28 April); *Tochigi Prefecture: Okada Bunji (until 5 June); Shin Kitagawa (starting 5 June) *

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

: Munakata Tadash (until 21 April);

Kubota Kiyochika Kubota machine is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Osaka. It was established in 1890. The corporation produces many products including tractors and other agricultural machinery, construction equipment, engines, vending machines, pi ...

(starting 21 April) *Toyama Prefecture:

Tsunenosuke Hamada was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from September 1925 to September 1926. He was governor of Toyama Prefecture (1910-1915), Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of ...

*Yamagata Prefecture: Iwataro Odakiri

Events

*January –

Siemens scandal of January 1914 involved collusion between several high-ranking members of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the British company Vickers, and the German industrial conglomerate of Siemens AG. It was one of several spectacular political scandals of la ...

breaks out. *February 10–14 large-scale demonstrations erupted in

in response to the Siemens scandal. *March 24 – Both houses of the Imperial Diet refused to pass the 1914 Navy budget *April 16 –

resigns as Prime Minister *August 7 – The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

( Japan's ally since 1902) officially asked Japan for assistance in destroying the raiders from the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

in and around Chinese waters. *August 23 – Japan declares war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. *August 25 – Japan declares war on

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, after

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

refused to withdraw the Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

. *September 2 – Japanese forces landed on China's Shandong province and surrounded the German settlement at Tsingtao (Qingdao) *September 6 – A seaplane launched by the seaplane-carrier ''Wakamiya''. unsuccessfully attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser ''Kaiserin Elisabeth'' and the German gunboat ''Jaguar'' with bombs *October – The

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

seized several of Germany's island colonies in the Pacific – the

Mariana Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

, and

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

- with virtually no resistance. The Japanese Navy conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids against German-held land targets in Shandong province and ships in Qiaozhou Bay from ''Wakamiya''. *October 17–November 7 – Naval operations around

Tsingtao, China Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Bel ...

. *October 31–November 7 –

Siege of Tsingtao The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. Th ...

concluded with the surrender of German colonial forces. *December 20 –

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

opened with four platforms; two serving electric trains and two serving non-electric trains.

Births

*January 12 –

Mieko Kamiya was a Japanese psychiatrist who treated leprosy patients at Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium. She was known for translating books on philosophy. She worked as a medical doctor in the Department of Psychiatry at Tokyo University following World War ...

, psychiatrist (d.

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

) *April 16 –

Hiro Saga was a Japanese noblewoman and memoir writer. She was the daughter of Marquis Saneto Saga and a distant relative of Emperor Shōwa. She was married in 1937 to Pujie, the younger brother of Puyi, the last monarch of the Qing dynasty of China betwee ...

, noblewoman (d.

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) *May 20 –

Hideko Maehata was a Japanese breaststroke swimmer and the first Japanese woman to earn a gold medal in the Olympics. Maehata was born in Hashimoto, Wakayama, as the daughter of a tofu producer and as a child learned to swim in the Kinokawa River. In the fift ...

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

swimmer and first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal. (d.

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

) *May 30 –

Akinoumi Setsuo , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hiroshima. He was the sport's 37th ''yokozuna''. Career Akinoumi made his professional debut in February 1932 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 1938. He was the man who ...

, sumo wrestler (d.

) *June 12 –

Go Seigen Wu Quan (), courtesy name Wu Qingyuan ()His courtesy name was created based on his real name (''Quan'' means "spring, fountain" and ''Qing Yuan'' means "clear and pure source of water"). (June 12, 1914 – November 30, 2014), better known by ...

, Go player (d.

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) *July 30 –

Michizō Tachihara was a Japanese poet and architect. He died at age 24 from tuberculosis, before either career could seriously get under way. Michizō struggled to find a way for an urban poet to root himself in traditional customs and still be "modern." Though ...

, poet and architect (d.

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

) *August 2 –

Sueo Ōe was a Japanese Athletics (sport), athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He won a bronze medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, tying with his teammate Shuhei Nishida. When the two declined to compete against each oth ...

, athlete (d.

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

) *August 19 –

Fumio Hayasaka Fumio Hayasaka (早坂文雄 ''Hayasaka Fumio''; August 19, 1914 – October 15, 1955) was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores. Early life Hayasaka was born in the city of Sendai on the main Japanese island of Honshū. In ...

, composer (d.

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

) *August 25 –

Shizuko Kasagi was a popular Japanese jazz singer and actress. At the peak of her fame in the immediate post-war era, she was known as the . Early life and career Shizuko Kasagi was born on 25 August 1914 in Ōkawa District, Kagawa, Japan. She originally too ...

, singer (d.

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) *September 1 – Tsuneko Sasamoto, photojournalist (d.

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

) *October 1 –

Hamao Umezawa was a Japanese scientist who discovered several antimicrobial agents and enzyme inhibitors. Umezawa was born in Obama, Fukui, Obama City, Fukui Prefecture, as the second son in a family of seven children. After graduating from Musashi Junior and ...

, microbiologist (d.

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

) *October 25 –

Yukie Arata was a Japanese freestyle swimmer. She competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics. In 1932 she was a member of the Japanese relay team which finished fifth in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay event. In the 100 metre freestyle competition she was ...

, freestyle swimmer (d. unknown) *November 3 –

Saburo Okita Saburō Ōkita (大来佐武郎 ''Ōkita Saburō'') (3 November 1914 – 9 February 1993) was a Japanese economist and politician noted for his role in the postwar development of the Japanese economy and Japan-US relations. Early life and educ ...

, foreign minister (d.

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

)

Deaths

*January 16 –

Itō Sukeyuki Marshal-Admiral Count (20 May 1843 – 16 January 1914) was a Japanese career officer and admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in Meiji-period Japan. Biography Born in what is now part of Kagoshima City as the son of a ''samurai'' of the Sa ...

, admiral (b. 1843) *February 16 –

Aoki Shūzō Viscount was a diplomat and Foreign Minister in Meiji period Japan. Biography Viscount Aoki was born to a ''samurai'' family as son of the Chōshū domain's physician in what is now part of Sanyō Onoda in Yamaguchi Prefecture). He studied we ...

politician and diplomat (b. 1844) *April 9 –

Empress Shōken , born , was the wife and adviser of Emperor Meiji of Japan. She is also known under the technically more correct name . She was one of the founders of the Japanese Red Cross Society, whose charity work was known throughout the First Sino-Japanese ...

, consort of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

(b. 1849) *November 16 –

Shunrō Oshikawa was a Japanese author, journalist and editor, best known as a pioneer of science fiction. Education and early career While studying law at Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present day Waseda University) at the turn of the century, Oshikawa published ''Kai ...

, author and journalist (b. 1876)

References

{{Asia topic, 1914 in 1910s in Japan Years of the 20th century in Japan