Chronology

Name of an era	Christian year	Events of the Japanese-French relations	Events of the world
Edo Period	1600	The Battle of Sekigahara	Foundation of the English East India Company
	1602		Foundation of the Dutch East India Company
	1603	Foundation of the Tokugawa shogunate
	1604	Foundation of the French East India Company
	1615	The Summer Campaign of Osaka The Hasekura mission landed on Saint-Tropez
	1618		Outbreak of the Thirty Years' War
	1636	Missionary Guillaume Courtet infiltrated into Japan and the following year was martyred
	1642		Beginning of the Puritan Revolution
	1648		The Peace of Westphalia
	1661		Beginning of the direct rule by Louis XIV
	1662		Overthrow of the Ming dynasty
	1688		The Glorious Revolution
	1689		The Treaty of Nerchinsk
	1702	The Forty-Seven Ronin Incident
	1716	Beginning of the Kyoho Reforms
	1765		Steam engine improvement by James Watt
	1776		The United States Declaration of Independence
	1782		Completion of the Siku Quanshu
	1787	Northeast Asian Expedition by Jean François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse Beginning of the Kansei Reforms
	1789		The French Revoluion and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
	1791		The Constitution of 1791
	1792	The Imperial Russian delegate Adam Laxman visited Japan
	1804		Promulgation of the Code Napoleon Beginning of the First French Empire
	1808	The Phaeton Incident
	1811	Tokugawa shogunate founded the translation department at the astronomical observatory
	1815		The Hundred Days of Napoleon and beginning of the Restauration
	1823	Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold came to Japan	Issuance of the Monroe Doctrine
	1824	Order for the Repelling of Foreign Ships
	1830		The July Revolution
	1837	The Tempo Uprising
	1839	Imprisonment of the Companions of Western Studies
	1840		The First Opium War
	1841	Beginning of the Tempo Reforms
	1844	The French battleship Alcmene visited to Ryukyu Islands
	1848		The February Revolution
	1851		Outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion President Louis Napoleon launched a coup and the following year established the Second French Empire
	1853	US naval officer Matthew Calbraith Perry sailed to Japan and the following year the Kanagawa Treaty was signed	Outbreak of the Crymian War
	1856		Outbreak of the Arrow War
	1857	Tokugawa shogunate founded the Institute for the Investigation of Western Books
	1858	Tokugawa shogunate concluded the Treaties of Amity and Commerce with the US, France, etc. The Ansei Purge
	1859	Opening of the port of Kanagawa, Nagasaki and Hakodate	Charles Robert Darwin published On the Origin of Species
	1860	Sakuradamongai Incident
	1861		Outbreak of the Civil War
	1862	Tokugawa shogunate dispatched a delegation to Europe
	1863	Choshu fired on Western ships The Kagoshima Bombardment The Institute for the Investigation of Western Books was reorganized into Kaisei-jo
	1864	Tokugawa shogunate dispatched a delegation to France MURAKAMI Eishun published Futsugo meiyō, the first full-blown French-Japanese dictionary Léon Roche came to Japan as the French Minister Shimonoseki Bombardment
	1865	Conclution of the contract for contruction of the Yokosuka Shipyard between Tokugawa shogunate and France
	1867	The first French military advisors came to Japan Tokugawa shogunate dispatched the delegation headed by TOKUGAWA Akitake to the Paris International Exposition Return of Political Rule to the Emperor
	1868	FUKUZAWA Yukichi founded the Keio Gijuku Kobe Incident and Sakai Incident
Meiji Era	1868	The Boshin Civil War Opening the city of Tokyo and establishment of the Tsukiji Hotel
	1869	Shizuoka Domain established the Numazu Military School	Completion of the Suez Canal
	1870	Establishment of the Ministry of Engineering SAMESHIMA Naonobu was dispatched to France SAIONJI Kimmochi was ordered to go to France for study	Beginning of the Franco-Prussian War
	1871	Establishment of the prefectural system The Ministry of Finance published Kaishaben and Tachiai ryakusoku The Iwakura Mission started and the following year reached France	Formation of the German Empire and the Paris Commune
	1872	The second French military advisors came to Japan Opening of the Tsukiji Seiyoken The Education Order of 1872 Opening of the first railway (Shinbashi-Yokohama) and telegraph cable (Tokyo-Osaka) The Ministry of Justice set up the Civil Code Council and invited Georges Hilaire Bousquet as a consultant Completion of the Tomioka Silk Mill Installation of gas lamps in Yokohama Three workmen of Nishijin traveled to Lyon as the apprentice of Kyoto Prefecture Establishment of the Taireifuku (court dress, full-dress uniform) by reference to French clothes
	1873	Gustave Émile Boissonade came to Japan The Conscription Ordinance of 1873 SHIBUSAWA Eiichi established the Dai-ichi Kokuritsu Ginko (First National Bank)
	1874	The Petition for the Establishment of a Popularly elected Assembly The Saga Rebellion
	1875	FUKUZAWA Yukichi published Bunmeiron no gairyaku The Imperial Edict of Incremental Establishment of the Constitutional Government
	1876	Émile Guimet and Félix Régamey traveled in Japan Ministry of Engineering established the Kobu Bijutsu Gakko
	1877	Ministry of Engineering established the Akabane Engineering Agency The Satsuma Rebellion Eight apprentices of Kyoto Prefecture led by Léon Dury traveled to France The Iwai Village Winery dispatched two apprentices to France
	1878	The Paris International Exposition Tokumei zenken taishi beiou kairan jikki was published KAWASHIMA Chunosuke published Hachijūnichikan sekai isshū (Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours)	The Congress of Berlin
	1879	Teremaku kafuku monogatari (Les Aventures de Télémaque) translated by MIYAJIMA Harumatsu came into publication
	1880	Establishment of the Banshu Vineyard
	1881	SAIONJI Kimmochi, NAKAE Chomin and others launched Tōyō jiyū shinbun The Political Crisis of 1881 and the Imperial Mandate for Establishing the Diet Inauguration of the Liberal Party
	1882	NAKAE Chomin published Min'yaku yakkai
	1883	Establishment of the Rokumeikan
	1884	KURODA Seiki traveled to France HAYASHI Tadamasa and WAKAI Kenzaburo established Wakai-Hayashi Company in Paris TAKASHIMA Hokkai went to France for forest survey Charles Leroux came to Japan as a member of the third military advisers	The Sino-French War
	1885	Abolishment of the Ministry of Engineering Pierre Loti visited Japan and cohabited with the model of Madame Chrysanthème The wind-instrument music Fusō ka was composed by Charles Leroux and in later years was designated as the march of the Army Judith Gautier published Poëmes de la libellule illustrated by YAMAMOTO Hosui
	1886	The Foreign Minister INOUE Kaoru led to hold the International Conference on Revision of the Unequal Treaties The Private Notification of the Women Clothes by the Miniser of Imperial Household
	1887	Establishment of the Kyoto Weaving Company MATSUOKA Hisashi traveled to France	Establishment of the French Indochina
	1888	TAKASHIMA Hokkai received the Officier d'académie
	1889	Promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan At the Paris International Exposition MAEDA Masana managed Japanese delegation and the Eiffel Tower was completed Beginning of the Civil Code controversy ASAI Chu and other formed the Meiji Bijutsukai TAKASHIMA Hokkai went to France again
	1890	Promulgation of the Old Civil Code The first general election of the member of the House of Representatives and establishment of the Imperial Diet INABATA Katsutaro established the Inabata Dyestuff Company
	1891	KURODA Seiki made the painting Dokusho (Reading) Edmond Huot de Goncourt published Outamaro IWAMURA Toru went to France to study
	1892	Postponement of the enforcement of the Old Civil Code was determined
	1893	Tomioka Silk Mill was surplused to the Mitsui Conglomerates
	1894	Beginning of the Dreyfus Affaire Exhibition of the works of Paul Renouard was held in Paris by HAYASHI Tadamasa	The Japanese-Sino War of 1894−1895
	1895	Gustave Émile Boissonade returned to France The Tripartite Intervention	The Treaty of Shimonoseki Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the Cinematograph
	1896	Partial promulgation of the New Civil Code MORITA Shiken started to serialize the translation of Jules Verne's Deux ans de vacances on the magazine Shōnen sekai KURODA Seiki and others formed the Hakubakai
	1897	The first public viewing of the Cinematograph by INABATA Katsutaro OKADA Saburosuke traveled to France
	1898	Full promulgation and enforcement of the New Civil Code Émile Zola released J'Accuse claiming Alfred Dreyfus' innocence	The Spanish-American War The Fashoda incident The Boer War
	1900	ASAI Chu traveled to France At the Paris International Exposition HAYASHI Tadamasa managed Japanese delegation and KAWAKAMI Otojiro and Sadayakko put a play on the stage	The Boxer Rebellion
	1901	NAKAMURA Fusetsu and KANOKOGI Takeshiro traveled to France YOSANO Akiko published poems Midaregami illustrated by FUJISHIMA Takeji Meijibijutsukai dissolved
	1902	KUROIWA Ruiko serialized the translation of Victor-Marie Hugo's Les Misérables on the newspaper Yorozu chōhō Taiheiyogakai and Tomoekai were formed	The Japanese-Anglo Alliance
	1903	OGIWARA Morie, NUMATA Ichiga and NAGAI Kenshi went to France to study
	1904	Ito Kochoen released lead-free powder	The Japanese-Russo War
	1905	ARISHIMA Ikuma and FUJISHIMA Takeji traveled to France UEDA Bin published the anthology of translated poems Kaichōon	The Bloody Sunday The Treaty of Portsmouth
	1906	KOMATSU Kosuke composed the first Japanese opera Hagoromo
	1907	NAGAI Kafu traveled to France The Fine Arts Exhibition sponsored by Ministry of Education (Bunten) launched
	1909	Banning of NAGAI Kafu's Furansu monogatari
	1910		Japan's annexation of Korea
	1911	Execution of KOTOKU Shusui and other inmates of the High Treason Incident of 1910 Hakubakai dissolved	The Xinhai Revolution and formation of the Republic of China
	1912	YOSANO Akiko traveled to France
Taisho Era	1912	Beginning of the controversy over the Emperor-as-Organ-of-the-State Theory YOROZU Tetsugoro, KISHIDA Ryusei and others formed the Hyuzankai
	1913	ISHIKAWA Sanshiro traveled to France SHIMAZAKI Toson traveled to France NAGAI Kafu published Sangoshū Joseph Cotte founded the Athenee Francais
	1914	YOSANO Tekkan and Akiko published Pari yori Foundation of the Takarazuka Girl's Revue	Outbreak of the First World War
	1915		Japan posed the Twenty-One Demands to China
	1917	KURODA Jutaro traveled to France	The Russian Revolution
	1918	Japan's Siberian Intervention and the Rice Riots of 1918
	1919	The Bunten was reorganized into the Imperial Fine Arts Academy Exhibition SAIONJI Kimmochi, MAKINO Nobuaki and others were dispatched to the Paris Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles	The Samil Independence Movement and the May Fourth Movement
	1920	TAKEBAYASHI Musoan traveled to France NAGAI Kafu published Edo geijutsuron	Formation of the League of Nations
	1921	SATSUMA Jirohachi debuted the society of Paris Paul Claudel assumed his duties as Ambassador to Japan NUMATA Ichiga went to France to study again.
	1922	SHIMAZAKI Toson published Etoranzē The exhibition of French contemporary arts started Konchūki (Souvenirs Entomologiques) translated by OSUGI Sakae came into publication OSUGI Sakae traveled to France on a false passport and the following year returned to be deported and published Nippon dasshutsuki	The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 Establishment of the Fascist Italy
	1923	The Tokyo Earthquake of 1923 and the killing of OSUGI Sakae and his family by military police
	1924	Foundation of the Maison Franco-Japonaise	Immigration Act of 1924
	1925	HAGIWARA Sakutaro composed Ryojo HORIGUCHI Daigaku published Gekka no ichigun KUKI Shuzo started to post poems on Myojō from Paris Enactment of the General Election Law and the Peace Preservation Law FUJISHIMA Takeji received the Officier de l'instruction publique.
Showa Era	1927	Foundation of the Franco-Japanese Institute of Kansai Construction of the Japan House funded by SATSUMA Jirohachi Paul Claudel left Japan and published Hyakusenchō The Takarazuka Girl's Revue put their first revue Mon Paris on the stage
	1928	TSUJI Jun and Makoto traveled to France KANEKO Mitsuharu and MORI Michiyo started to roam around Asia and Europe	The Kellogg-Briand Pact Start of the First Five-Year Plan in Soviet Union
	1929	OKAMOTO Ippei, Kanoko and Taro traveled to France Foundation of the Casino Folies	The World Crisis
	1930	OKADA Saburosuke and Yachiyo traveled to France KUKI Shuzo published Iki no kōzō Konchūki (Souvenirs Entomologiques) translated by HAYASHI Tatsuo and YAMADA Yoshihiko came into publication The Takarazuka Girl's Revue put Parisette on the stage	The London Naval Conferences
	1931	HAYASHI Fumiko traveled to France René Clair's Under the Roofs of Paris released in Japan Foundation of the Moulin Rouge Shinjukuza Theater NUMATA Ichiga receved Légion d'honneur.	The Manchurian Incident
	1932	Lucienne Boyer's record Parlez-moi d'amour released in Japan The May 15th Incident
	1933	The Kyoto University Incident of 1933 Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations René Clair's Quatorze Juillet released in Japan	Establishment of the Nazi Germany Start of the New Deal program
	1934	MATSUO Kuninosuke and others launched the magazine France-Japon in Paris
	1935	The Emperor-as-Organ-of-the-State Theory Incident
	1936	The February 26th Incident YOKOMITSU Riichi traveled to France	The Berlin Olympic Games
	1937		The Marco Polo Bridge Incident and outbreak of the Japanese-Sino War of 1937−1945
	1938	Enactment of the National Mobilization Law Julien Duvivier's Un carnet de bal released in Japan
	1939		Outbreak of the Second World War
	1940	France's occupation by Nazi Germany and establishment of the Vichy France Charles de Gaulle founded the Free French Forces and the French Resistance started action Japanese occupation of North Indochina Foundation of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association	The Tripartite Pact by Japan, Germany, and Italy
	1941	Japanese occupation of South Indochina The Attack on Pearl Harbor and outbreak of the Pacific War
	1944	The Liberation of Paris
	1945	Agreement of the Potsdam Declaration Beginning of the American Occupation reforms	Surrender of Germany and Japan Establishment of the United Nations
	1946	Promulgation of the Constitution of Japan	Beginning of the Indochina War
	1949		Foundation of the People's Republic of China
	1950	MORI Arimasa traveled to France as one of the first French government-sponsored fellows in the postwar	Beginning of the Korean War
	1951	KATO Shuichi traveled to France for a research fellowship The chanson café Gimpari opened	The San Francisco Peace Treaty
	1952	Marcel Carné's Les Enfants du Paradis released in Japan
	1953	NAITO Aro published the translation of Le Petit Prince
	1955		The Bandung Conference
	1956	KATO Shuichi published Zasshu bunka Japan's admission to the United Nations	Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences The Suez War Japanese-Soviet Joint Declaration The Hungarian Rising
	1959	French government returned the Matsukata Collection to Japan	The Cuban Revolution
	1960	Jean-Luc Godard's À bout de souffle released in Japan
	1962		The Cuban Crisis
	1963	Alain Delon visited Japan	The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
	1964	The Tokyo Olympic Games
	1965		Beginning of the bombing of North Vietnam Japan-Korea Treaty of 1965
	1966	Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir visited Japan	The China's Cultural Revolution
	1967		The 1967 Arab–Israeli War
	1968		The Prague Spring and the May 1968 events in France
	1969		Lunar landing of the Apollo 11 rocket
	1970	The Japan World Exposition, Osaka 1970 Roland Barthes published L'empire des signes The fashion magazine, an・an Elle Japon was launched TAKADA Kenzo debuted in the Paris Collection	Becoming law of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
	1972	Paul Bocuse visited Japan Okinawa's reversion to Japanese administration IKEDA Riyoko's comic, The Rose of Versailles was started	US President Richard Nixon visited China and Japan-China Joint Communique of 1972 was released
	1973	Close down of the Ikuno Mine KANEKO Mitsuharu published Nemure pari	The 1973 Arab–Israeli War and the Oil Crisis
	1974	Takarazuka Revue Company performed The Rose of Versailles for the first time
	1975	KATO Shuichi published Nihon bungakushi josetsu (A history of Japanese literature) The Rambouillet Summit	The end of the Vietnam War
	1978		The Japan-China Peace and Amity Treaty
	1979		The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
	1980		The Iran-Iraq War
	1986	The Sumo Stand in Paris
	1987	Katakura Industries closed down the Tomioka Silk Mill
Heisei Era	1989		The Tiananmen Square Incident Democratization of Eastern Europe and collapse of the Berlin Wall
	1990	OTOMO Katsuhiro's comic, Akira became popular in France
	1991		The Gulf War Dissolution of the Soviet Union
	1992		The Treaty of Maastricht
	1994	Opening of the Chanel Ginza
	1995	In Japan protests against the nuclear test conducted by France were raised
	1996	Franco-Japanese Forum started
	1997	Opening of the Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris
	1999	Renault affiliated Nissan
	2000	Japan expo started
	2001		The 9.11 terrorist attacks and the War in Afghanistan
	2003		The Iraq War
	2007	Release of Michelin Guide Tokyo
	2008	150th anniversary of Japanese-French relations
	2014	The Tomioka Silk Mill was registered on the World Heritage List