Knowledge · Timeline 年表
The Meiji era, 1868–1912
Events that shaped the art of the period, each with its source.
- 1868
23 October: the Meiji era begins. [Meiji era]
- 1871
Domains replaced by prefectures. [Meiji era]
- 1872
First railway, Tokyo to Yokohama. [Meiji era]
- 1873
Japan takes part in the Vienna World's Fair. [1873 Vienna World's Fair]
- 1874
Kiryū Kōshō Kaisha, a state-backed export company for Japanese art, opens. [起立工商会社]
- 1876
28 March: the Haitō Edict bans carrying swords in public; Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. [Haitō Edict] [Centennial Exposition]
- 1877
August: first National Industrial Exhibition, Ueno, Tokyo. [内国勧業博覧会]
- 1878
Paris Exposition Universelle. [Exposition Universelle (1878)]
- 1879
Musen (wireless) cloisonné invented, as dated for Namikawa Sōsuke. [濤川惣助]
- 1881
Second National Industrial Exhibition, Tokyo. [濤川惣助]
- 1889
Paris Exposition Universelle. [Exposition Universelle (1889)]
- 1890
Imperial Household Artist system established; first ten appointed on 2 October. Third National Industrial Exhibition. Constitution enacted 29 November. [帝室技芸員] [海野勝珉] [Meiji era]
- 1893
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago. [World's Columbian Exposition]
- 1894–95
First Sino-Japanese War. [Meiji era]
- 1895
Fourth National Industrial Exhibition, Okazaki, Kyoto. [SEIFŪ Yohei III]
- 1896
30 June: eleven artists appointed Imperial Household Artists, including both Namikawas, Kōzan and Suzuki Chōkichi. [帝室技芸員]
- 1900
Paris Exposition Universelle. [Exposition Universelle (1900)]
- 1902
Anglo-Japanese Alliance signed, 30 January. [Meiji era]
- 1903
Fifth National Industrial Exhibition, Osaka. [Yabu Meizan]
- 1904
Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St Louis. [Louisiana Purchase Exposition]
- 1910
Japan–British Exhibition, London. [Japan–British Exhibition]
- 1912
30 July: the Meiji era ends. Gifts commissioned from the then twenty-four Imperial Household Artists for the Emperor's 61st birthday go instead to the Imperial Household Museum. [Imperial Household Artist]
Descriptions record our research and opinion as of 20 October 2026. Works are offered as described. Please see our Terms of Sale.
From the auction literature
Dated events stated in auction-house lot essays, footnoted to each lot. They supplement the timeline above.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1871 | Summer: Miyagawa Kōzan leaves Kyoto for Yokohama and sets up a kiln for export wares.1 |
| 1877 | At the first National Industrial Exhibition a high-relief Kōzan piece is touched by the Meiji Emperor and later bought for the Imperial collection.1 |
| 1879 | The South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) acquires a Kōzan high-relief vase, inv. 308-1879.1 |
| 1880 | Yabu Meizan opens his Osaka workshop.2 |
| 1888 | Kinkōzan is thought to exhibit first abroad, at Barcelona.3 |
| c. 1893 | Namikawa Sōsuke begins to mark his works with the Sakigake character.4 |
| 1898 | Michael Tomkinson publishes the catalogue of his collection, listing a Yabu Meizan jar.5 |
| 1909 | Sōsuke's panels for the Akasaka Rikyū Palace are completed, as dated by Bonhams.6 |
Notes
- Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, including the Alan and Simone Hartman Collection of Japanese Art, 2024-09-18, lot 802, lot description and footnote. ↗
- Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 2017-09-13, lot 1286, lot description and footnote. ↗
- Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 2018-03-21, lot 2207, lot description and footnote. ↗
- Bonhams, Fine Japanese & Korean Art, 2026-09-16, lot 1003, lot description and footnote. ↗
- Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 2014-05-15, lot 464, lot description and footnote. ↗
- Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 2017-11-09, lot 209, lot description and footnote. ↗