1923 in Japan

Events in the year 1923 in Japan. It corresponds to Taishō 12 in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

Governors

Aichi Prefecture: Hikoji Kawaguchi ; Masahiro Ota
Akita Prefecture: Masao Kishimoto
Aomori Prefecture: Yujiro Ozaki ; Kazue Baba
Ehime Prefecture: Juunosuke Miyazaki
Fukui Prefecture: Josuke Shiraogawa
Fukushima Prefecture: Iwata Mamoru ; Kosaka Masayasu
Gifu Prefecture: Manpei Ueda
Gunma Prefecture: Yamaoka Kunitoshi
Hiroshima Prefecture: Kamehiko Abe ; Jiro Yamagata
Ibaraki Prefecture: Genjiro Moriya ; Shohei Fujinuma
Iwate Prefecture: Ushidzuka Torataro
Kagawa Prefecture: Shuji Sasaki ; Nakagawa Kenzo
Kanagawa Prefecture: Yasukouchi Asakichi
Kochi Prefecture: Toyoji Obata ; Fujioka Hyoichi
Kumamoto Prefecture: Tadahiko Okada ; Chisato Tanaka
Kyoto Prefecture: Tokikazu Ikematsu
Mie Prefecture: Saburo Shibata ; Tago Ilman
Miyagi Prefecture: Yuichiro Chikaraishi
Miyazaki Prefecture: Muneyoshi Oshiba ; Saito Munenori
Nagano Prefecture: Toshio Honma
Niigata Prefecture: Ota Masahiro ; Ohara Sanarata
Okayama Prefecture: Masao Kishimoto
Okinawa Prefecture: Jyun Wada ; Ki Iwamoto
Saga Prefecture: Tominaga
Saitama Prefecture: Horiuchi Hidetaro ; Motoda Tashio '
Shiga Prefecture: Kaiichiro Suematsu
Shiname Prefecture: Sanehide Takarabe ; Naganobu Ren
Tochigi Prefecture: Haruki Yamawaki
Tokyo: Katsuo Usami
Toyama Prefecture: Kihachiro Ito
Yamagata Prefecture: Agata Shinobu

Events

April unknown date - Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical was founded, as predecessor part of Astellas Pharma.
May 21–25 - 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.
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.
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

February 17 - Jun Fukuda, film director
March 27 - Shūsaku Endō, writer
May 24 - Seijun Suzuki, filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter
June 4 - Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, wife of Prince Takahito
August 7 - Ryōtarō Shiba, writer
October 7 - Tomio Aoki, film actor

Deaths

January 8 - Shimamura Hayao, Marine Admiral
February 3 - Kuroki Tamemoto general
February 4 - Prince Fushimi Sadanaru, Field Marshal
April 1 - Prince Naruhisa Kitashirakawa, military personnel
June 9
*Takeo Arishima, novelist, writer and essayist
*Akiko Hatano, journalist
June 19 - Shō Shō, member of the House of Peers
August 24 - Katō Tomosaburō, Prime Minister of Japan
September 1 - Matsuoka Yasukowa, politician and cabinet minister
September 2 - Kuriyagawa Hakuson, literary critic
September 16
*Noe Itō, anarchist, social critic and author
*Sakae Ōsugi, anarchist
November 8 - Fusakichi Omori, seismologist
November 26 - Otani Kikuzo, general
December 29 - Kōno Hironaka, politician