Events in the year 1923 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 12 (大正12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 *

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

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 ...

: **

Katō Tomosaburō Marshal-Admiral Viscount was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1922 to 1923. Biography Born in Hiroshima, Aki Province (modern Hiroshima Prefecture) to a ''samurai'' family, Ka ...

(until August 24) **

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 ...

(from September 2)

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 ...

: Hikoji Kawaguchi (until 16 June); Masahiro Ota (starting 16 June) *Akita Prefecture:

Masao Kishimoto Masao Kishimoto ( ja, 岸本正雄) (October 1881 – May 20, 1963) was Director of the Karafuto Agency (December 17, 1931 – July 5, 1932). He was Governor of Akita Prefecture (1922–1924), Yamagata Prefecture (1924), Okayama Prefecture (1927� ...

*Aomori Prefecture: Yujiro Ozaki (until 25 October);

Kazue Baba Kazue (written: 一恵, 一枝, 和恵, 和枝, 和永, 良恵 or かずえ in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actress *, Japanese gymnast *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese voice actress ...

(starting 25 October) *Ehime Prefecture: Juunosuke Miyazaki *Fukui Prefecture: Josuke Shiraogawa *Fukushima Prefecture:

Iwata Mamoru Iwata may refer to: *Iwata, Shizuoka, city located in Shizuoka, Japan * Iwata (surname) **Satoru Iwata, former president and CEO of Nintendo *Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 Leag ...

(until 25 October);

Kosaka Masayasu and are two separate Japanese surnames, distinguished by the length of the vowel in the first syllable of each surname. They are sometimes spelled identically in romanisation due to omission of the macron in the latter surname. Notable people wi ...

(starting 25 October) *Gifu Prefecture: Manpei Ueda *Gunma Prefecture:

Yamaoka Kunitoshi Yamaoka is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * (born 1968), Japanese video game composer (''Silent Hill'' series) * Kristi Yamaoka (born 1987), American cheerleader discussed in Cheerleading#Dangers of cheerleading * ( ...

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 ...

Kamehiko Abe was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from October 1922 to October 1923. He was governor of Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of ...

(until 25 October);

Jiro Yamagata Jiro Yamagata (January 6, 1881 – January 9, 1936) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from October 1923 to September 1925. He was governor of Ishikawa Prefecture (1922-1923), Hyōgo Prefecture (1925-1927) a ...

(starting 25 October) *

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, ...

: Genjiro Moriya (until 25 October); Shohei Fujinuma (starting 25 October) *Iwate Prefecture: Ushidzuka Torataro *Kagawa Prefecture: Shuji Sasaki (until 25 October); Nakagawa Kenzo (starting 25 October) *

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

Yasukouchi Asakichi Yasukouchi Asakichi (April 15, 1873 – July 15, 1927) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from May 1918 to April 1919. He was governor of Shizuoka Prefecture (1915-1918), Fukuoka Prefecture (1919-1922) and K ...

*Kochi Prefecture: Toyoji Obata (until 25 October); Fujioka Hyoichi (starting 25 October) *

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 ...

Tadahiko Okada was a Japanese politician. He was governor of Saitama Prefecture (1916-1919), Nagano Prefecture (1921-1922) and Kumamoto Prefecture (1922-1923). Awards *1945 - Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January ...

(until 12 October);

Chisato Tanaka is a Japanese retired track and field sprinter. She won a bronze medal in the 400 metres and a gold medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2011 Asian Championships in Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefectu ...

(starting 12 October) * Kyoto Prefecture: Tokikazu Ikematsu *Mie Prefecture: Saburo Shibata (until 25 October); Tago Ilman (starting 25 October) *

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 ...

: Yuichiro Chikaraishi *Miyazaki 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 25 October); Saito Munenori (starting 25 October) *

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 ...

: Toshio Honma *

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 ...

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 ...

(until 11 June); Ohara Sanarata (starting 11 June) *

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

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 ...

: Jyun Wada (until 25 October); Ki Iwamoto (starting 25 October) *

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 ...

Tominaga Tominaga (written: or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese fashion model and actress *Geovanna Tominaga Geovanna de Oliveira Tominaga (born April 12, 1980) is a Brazilian actress and television host. B ...

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 ...

: Horiuchi Hidetaro (until 25 October); Motoda Tashio (starting 25 October)' *

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

Kaiichiro Suematsu Kaiichiro Suematsu (June 18, 1875 – June 26, 1947) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from September 1926 to November 1927. He was governor of Tokushima Prefecture (1915-1917), Shiga Prefecture (1923-1925) a ...

(starting month unknown) *Shiname Prefecture: Sanehide Takarabe (until 25 October); Naganobu Ren (starting 25 October) *Tochigi Prefecture:

Haruki Yamawaki Haruki is both a masculine/neutral Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese-born theatre performer *, Japanese footballer *, Nippon Professional Baseball pla ...

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 ...

: Katsuo Usami *Toyama Prefecture: Kihachiro Ito *Yamagata Prefecture: Agata Shinobu

Events

Marunouchi after the Great Kanto Earthquake

*April unknown date – Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical was founded, as predecessor part of

Astellas Pharma is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, formed on 1 April 2005 from the merger of and . On February 5, 2020, the company announced management changes effective from April 1, 2020. Astellas is a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Finan ...

. *May 21–25 – 1923 Far Eastern Games held in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. *August 24 – Prime Minister

dies in office. *August 29 – Fuji Electric Manufacturing, later

Fuji Electric , operating under the brand name FE, is a Japanese electrical equipment company, manufacturing pressure transmitters, flowmeters, gas analyzers, controllers, inverters, pumps, generators, ICs, motors, and power equipment. History Fuji Electric ...

was founded. *September 1 – The

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

devastates

and

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, 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. *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 **

is appointed

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

. **

Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

declared in Tokyo districts *September 3–5 –

Kameido incident The took place in 1923 in the aftermath of the Great Kantō earthquake. The Kameido police in Tokyo arrested labor activists, in fear that they would spread disorder. Troops of the 13th Cavalry Regiment proceeded to execute the prisoners and to ...

*September 4 – The area of martial law is expanded to cover all of Tokyo,

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

, and Saitama prefectures. *September 7 – A

Curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

is issued in Tokyo. *September 16 –

Amakasu Incident The Amakasu Incident (''Amakasu jiken'') was the murder of two prominent Japanese anarchists and a young boy by military police, led by Lieutenant Amakasu Masahiko, in September 1923. The victims were Ōsugi Sakae, an informal leader of the Jap ...

: The feminist Noe Itō and her partner, the anarchist

Sakae Ōsugi Sakae may refer to: Places in Japan * Sakae, Chiba (Japanese: 栄町; ''sakae-machi''), a town in Chiba Prefecture * Sakae, Niigata (Japanese: 栄町; ''sakae-machi''), a town in Niigata Prefecture * Sakae, Nagano (Japanese: 栄村; ''sakae-mura'') ...

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. *December 27 – Toranomon Incident: An

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

attempt is made on the crown prince

in Tokyo by

Daisuke Namba was a Japanese student who tried to assassinate the Crown Prince Regent Hirohito in the Toranomon Incident on December 27, 1923. Family and early life Daisuke Nanba was born to a distinguished family. His grandfather was decorated by the Emp ...

, but the attempt fails. *Unknown date –Yamanouchi Pharmacy, as predecessor of

Astellas is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, formed on 1 April 2005 from the merger of and . On February 5, 2020, the company announced management changes effective from April 1, 2020. Astellas is a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Finan ...

was founded.

Births

*March 27 –

Shūsaku Endō was a Japanese author who wrote from the rare perspective of a Japanese Catholic. Internationally, he is known for his 1966 historical fiction novel ''Silence'', which was adapted into a 2016 film of the same name by director Martin Scorsese. ...

, writer (d. 1996) *May 24 –

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predo ...

, filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2017) *June 4 –

Yuriko, Princess Mikasa (born ; 4 June 1923), is a member of the Imperial House of Japan as the widow of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. The Princess is the last surviving paternal great-aunt-in-law of Emperor Naruhito, an ...

, wife of Prince Takahito *August 7 –

Ryōtarō Shiba , also known as , was a Japanese author. He is best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the r ...

, writer (d. 1996) *October 7 –

Tomio Aoki ''aka'' was a Japanese film actor. Aoki became famous as a child actor after debuting at the age of six in silent films directed by Yasujirō Ozu. His leading role in Ozu's 1929 short comedy ''Tokkan kozo'' gave Aoki his nickname. '' I Was Bor ...

, film actor (d. 2004)

Deaths

*January 8 –

Shimamura Hayao Marshal-Admiral Baron was a Japanese admiral during the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars as well as one of the first prominent staff officers and naval strategists of the early Imperial Japanese Navy. Biography Born in Kōchi cit ...

, Marine Admiral (b. 1858) *February 3 –

Kuroki Tamemoto Count was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the head of the Japanese First Army during the Russo-Japanese War; and his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, the B ...

general (b. 1844) *February 4 –

Prince Fushimi Sadanaru was the 22nd head of the Fushimi-no-miya shinnōke (branch of the Imperial Family). He was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army. Early life Prince Sadanaru was born in Kyoto as the fourteenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802–187 ...

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

(b. 1858) *April 1 –

Prince Naruhisa Kitashirakawa , was the 3rd head of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family. Early life Prince Naruhisa was the son of Prince Yoshihisa Kitashirakawa and Princess Tomiko.Takenobu, Yoshitaro. (1906). Prince Naruhisa succeeded as head of the hous ...

, military personnel (b. 1887) *June 9 **

Takeo Arishima was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer and essayist during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, and , were also authors. His son was the internationally known film and stage actor, Masayuki Mori. Early life Ari ...

, novelist, writer and essayist (suicide) (b. 1878) **Akiko Hatano, journalist (suicide) (b. 1894) *June 19 –

Shō Shō , was the head of the Second Shō dynasty, Shō family, the former Ryukyu Kingdom, Ryukyuan royal family, and upon his father's death in 1920, he became head of the family and inherited the title of Marquess. Like most members of the ''kazoku'' ...

, member of the House of Peers (b. 1888) *August 24 –

, 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) **

, anarchist (b. 1885) *November 8 –

Fusakichi Omori was a pioneer Japanese seismologist, second chairman of seismology at the Imperial University of Tokyo and president of the Japanese Imperial Earthquake Investigation Committee. Omori is also known for his observation describing the aftershock ...

, seismologist (b. 1868) *November 26 –

Otani Kikuzo Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. Otani participated in the First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, World War I and the Russian Civil War. During the course of the latter he commanded the Vladivostok Expeditionary Force an ...

, general (b. 1856) *December 29 –

Kōno Hironaka was a politician and cabinet minister in the Empire of Japan. Biography Kōno was a native of Mutsu Province (modern-day Fukushima Prefecture), where his father, Iwamura Hidetoshi, was a samurai in the service of Miharu Domain, who supplemen ...

, politician (b. 1849)

References

{{Asia topic, 1923 in 1920s in Japan

Years of the 20th century in Japan