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Tokyo

capital and largest city of Japan

35 dated entries naming Tokyo, drawn from 30 separate years between 824 CE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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9th century

  • 824Zenpuku-ji, one of the oldest Tokyo temples, is founded by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kūkai.source

10th century

  • 940March 25 – Taira no Masakado, the self-proclaimed "New Emperor" (新皇), is subdued by local rivals who revolt against his rule. His forces are defeated by his cousin, Taira no Sadamori, in Shimōsa Province. Masakado's head is brought back to Emperor Suzaku in Tokyo.source
  • 941Kaminarimon, the eight-pillared gate to the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan, is erected.source

14th century

  • 1375Heirin-ji Temple is founded near Tokyo.source
  • 1382March 10 – (24th day of Leap Month of Kōwa 2) Kusunoki Masanori, fighting for Southern Japan, is defeated in a battle at Kawachi Hirao with Yamana Ujiyoshi and is forced to retreat back to Tokyo.source

15th century

  • 1457Edo Castle is built by Ōta Dōkan in modern-day Tokyo.source

16th century

  • 1590June 23 – The Japanese samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends an army of 15,000 men, led by generals Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu, in an attack on the Hachiōji Castle in what is now Tokyo. The castle is lightly defended, by only 1,300 men, because the samurai Hōjō Ujiteru has most of his troops engaged in defending Hideyohsi's siege of Odawara. The castle is captured after one day, and later destroyed on orders of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.source

19th century

  • 1840Kajima, a construction company based in Japan, is founded in Edo (modern-day Tokyo).source
  • 1857Suzumoto Vaudeville Theater officially opens in Ueno region, Edo (modern-day Tokyo) in Japan.source
  • 1864Yasudaya Currency Exchange Bank, as predecessor of Mizuho Financial Group, is founded in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Japan.source
  • 1872July 15 – Hochi Mail News, later Hochi Daily News, a Japanese language newspaper, is first published in Tokyo, although it changes coverage from general news to a sports newspaper from December 1949.source
  • 1872September 17 – Shiseido Pharmacy Shop, predecessor of Shiseido, a major worldwide cosmetics brand, is founded in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.source
  • 1873Konishiya Rokubei, predecessor of the Konica Minolta worldwide imaging brand, is founded in Tokyo, Japan.source
  • 1874November 2 – The first issue of Japanese-language newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun is published in Tokyo, Japan.source
  • 1875July 11 – Tanaka Manufacturing, a telecommunications factory in Ginza, Tokyo, a predecessor of Toshiba, a Japanese electromechanics giant, is founded.source
  • 1876December 2 – Chugai Economic Daily, predecessor of Nikkei Economic Daily (Nihon Keizai Shinbun), is first issued in Tokyo, Japan.source
  • 1881Hattori Watch Shop (服部時計店) is founded by Kanetarō Hattori in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, predecessor of watch brand Seiko.source
  • 1881Meiji Law School, predecessor of Meiji University, is founded in Yurakucho, Tokyo, Japan.source
  • 1887Nagase Shoten (長瀬商店), predecessor of Japanese cosmetics and toiletry brand Kao Corporation, is founded in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan.source
  • 1888April 13 – Kahisakan (可否茶館), the first coffee shop in Japan, opens in Tokyo.source

20th century

  • 1905July 27 – The Taft–Katsura agreement is reached in Tokyo.source
  • 1920November 2 – Meiji Shrine, one of many landmark spots in Tokyo, is officially built in Japan.source
  • 1923December 27 – Toranomon Incident: In Tokyo, Crown Prince Hirohito of Japan survives an assassination attempt by communist student Daisuke Nanba.source
  • 1929August 8–29 – German rigid airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin makes a circumnavigation of the Northern Hemisphere eastabout out of Lakehurst, New Jersey, including the first nonstop flight of any kind across the Pacific Ocean (Tokyo–Los Angeles).source
  • 1934The Yomiuri Giants, a successful professional baseball club in Japan, is founded in Tokyo.source
  • 1940July 20–August 4 – Scheduled dates for the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, cancelled in November 1939 due to WWII (originally allocated to Tokyo, Japan).source
  • 1940July 27 – Eleven British nationals, including Melville James Cox, are arrested on suspicion of spying for military intelligence by the secret police in Japan. Cox commits suicide in Tokyo on July 29, according to a report by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.source
  • 1948August 19 – Toho strikes: A sitdown strike at Toho film studio in Tokyo ends after the studio is surrounded by 2,000 police and a platoon of U.S. Eighth Army soldiers.source
  • 1985June 15 – Studio Ghibli, an animation studio, is founded in Tokyo.source
  • 1989February 24 – The state funeral of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) in Tokyo is attended by leaders and representatives of 160 nations.source

21st century

  • 2013September 7 – The International Olympic Committee awards Tokyo the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.source
  • 2021August 24–September 5 – The 2020 Summer Paralympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 25 August–6 September 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.source
  • 2021July 23–August 8 – The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 24 July–9 August 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.source
  • 2025November 25 – A report published by the United Nations shows that Indonesian capital Jakarta has surpassed Japanese capital Tokyo as the world's largest city, with a population of 42 million people.source
  • 2025September 13–21 – The 2025 World Athletics Championships are held in Tokyo, Japan.source

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