1927 in Japan

Events in the year 1927 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 2 in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

Governors

Aichi Prefecture: Saburo Shibata ; Toyoji Obata
Akita Prefecture: Nakano Kunikazu ; Yuichiro Chikaraishi
Aomori Prefecture:
* until 27 May: Koyanagi Mamoru
* 27 May-7 November: Jiro Morioka
* starting 7 November: Tetsuzo Yoshimura
Ehime Prefecture: Masayasu Kosaka ; Yujiro Ozaki
Fukui Prefecture: Keizo Ichimura
Fukuoka Prefecture: Saito Morikuni
Fukushima Prefecture: Hiroshi Kawabuchi ; Ito Kihachiro
Gifu Prefecture: Shintaro Suzuki ; Rokuichiro Ono
Gunma Prefecture: Kotsuke ; Agata Shinobu
Hiroshima Prefecture: Kaiichiro Suematsu ; Sukenari Yokoyama
Ibaraki Prefecture:
* until 17 May: Kihachiro Ito
* 17 May-7 November: Sanosuke
* starting 7 November: Jiro Morioka
Ishikawa Prefecture: Korekiyo Otsuka then Sukenari Yokoyama
Iwate Prefecture: Kakichi Tokuno
Kagawa Prefecture: Misho Miura ; Toshio Motoda
Kanagawa Prefecture: Ikeda Hiroshi
Kochi Prefecture: Sato Naorimittsu ; Aidkame Kiyoo
Kumamoto Prefecture: Masao Oka ; Saito Munenori
Kyoto Prefecture:
* until April: Tsunenosuke Hamada
* April-July: Shigoro Sugiyama
* starting July Shigeyoshi Omihara
Mie Prefecture: Endo Ryusaku
Miyagi Prefecture: Katorataro Ushizu
Miyazaki Prefecture: Kiyoo Aida ; Akira Kouda
Nagano Prefecture: Umetani Mitsusada ; Ryo Chiba
Niigata Prefecture: Takeo Mimatsu ; Shohei Fujinoma
Okayama Prefecture: Masao Kishimoto
Okinawa Prefecture: Tsuguo Imashuku ; Tōjirō Iio
Osaka Prefecture: Harumichi Tanabe
Saitama Prefecture:
* until 17 May: Saito Morikuni
* 17 May-7 November: Yashu
* starting 7 November: Miyawaki Umekichi
Shiga Prefecture: Shinya Kurosaki
Shiname Prefecture:
* until 18 May: Jiro Morioko
* 17 May-18 May: Yukichi Shirakami
* starting 18 May: Rinsaku Yagi
Tochigi Prefecture: Hyoichi Fujioka ; Takeichi Fujiyama
Tokyo: Hiroshi Hiratsuka
Toyama Prefecture: Yukichi Shirakami ; Shirane Takesuke
Yamagata Prefecture: Misawa Kan'ichi ; Shinohara Eitaro

Events

January - Shōwa financial crisis: In the ensuing bank run, 37 banks throughout Japan, and the second-tier zaibatsu Suzuki Shoten, went under. Prime Minister Wakatsuki attempted to have an emergency decree issued to allow the Bank of Japan to extend emergency loans to save these banks, but his request was denied by the Privy Council
January 23 - Okuro Oikawa discovers a new asteroid 1266 Tone at the Tokyo Observatory.
February 8 - Emperor Taishō is buried in the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Hachiōji, Tokyo. The funeral was held at night and consisted of a 4-mile-long procession in which 20,000 mourners followed a herd of sacred bulls and an ox-drawn cart containing the imperial coffin. The funeral route was lit with wood fires in iron lanterns. The emperor's coffin was then transported to his mausoleum in the western suburbs of Tokyo.
March 7 - Kita Tango earthquake: with a moment magnitude of 7.0. Up to 2,956 people were killed 7,806 were injured. Almost all the houses in Mineyama were destroyed as a result. The earthquake was felt as far away as Tokyo and Kagoshima.
April 20 - Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō is forced to resign during the Shōwa financial crisis and is succeeded by Tanaka Giichi who manages to control the situation with a three-week bank holiday and the issuance of emergency loans.
July 24 - Writer Ryūnosuke Akutagawa commits suicide in the early morning hours at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.
August 24 - Mihonoseki Incident: The light cruiser Jintsuu and the Momi-class destroyer Warabi, both ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, collided at the mouth of Miho Bay. There were 92 naval personnel who were killed when the Warabi sunk, and 28 were killed aboard the Jintsuu. Captain Keiji Mizushiro was questioned, but committed suicide before the beginning of the trial.
September 13 - JVC, as predecessor of JVCKenwood was founded.
December 30 - Japan's first subway line started running between Asakusa station and Ueno station, Tokyo. The line was called Ginza Line in 1953.

Births

January 28 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, film maker
January 30 - Keizo Yamada, long-distance runner
February 14 - Seizō Katō, voice actor
March 14 - Yoichi Nishimaru, physician
March 15 - Junzo Sekine, professional baseball player
March 21 - Mariko Miyagi, actress, singer, and advocate
April 2 - Hisashi Katsuta, actor and voice actor
June 16 - Yoshiro Hayashi, politician
July 7 - Kōji Nanbara, actor
August 1 - Hiroshi Mitsuzuka, politician
August 15 - Akio Sato, politician
August 24 - Tatsumi Kumashiro, film director
September 10 - Sachiko, Princess Hisa, second child of Emperor Shōwa
September 16 - Sadako Ogata, academic, diplomat and author
November 7
*Mayumi Moriyama, politician and cabinet minister
*Hiroshi Yamauchi, businessman
December 16 - Akihiko Hirata, film actor

Deaths

February 6 - Kamio Mitsuomi, admiral
February 23 - Noda Utarō, entrepreneur, politician
March 20 - Kusunose Yukihiko, general
May 1 - Tetsugorō Yorozu, painter
May 2 - Fukuda Hideko, author, educator and feminist
July 24 - Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, short story writer, drug-related suicide
September 5 - Katō Sadakichi, admiral
September 18 - Kenjirō Tokutomi, philosopher and writer
September 24 - Yamagata Isaburō, politician
October 26 - Jūkichi Yagi, poet
November 15 - Murakami Kakuichi, admiral