1872 in Japan

Events in the year 1872 in Japan.

Incumbents

 * Emperor: Emperor Meiji
 * Empress consort: Empress Shōken

Governors

 * Aichi Prefecture: Iseki Ushitora (starting April 2)
 * Akita Prefecture: Shima Yoshitake (January 29-July 29), Sugio Magoshichiro (starting July 29)
 * Aomori Prefecture: J. Hishida
 * Fukui Prefecture: Kotobuki Murata
 * Fukushima Prefecture:
 * until January 20: Tomoharu Kiyooka
 * January 20-June 2: Miyahara
 * starting June 2: Taihe Yasujo
 * Gifu Prefecture: Joren Hasegawa
 * Gunma Prefecture: Sada Aoyama
 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Date Muneoki
 * Ibaraki Prefecture:
 * until July 10: Yamaguchi
 * August 8-August 13: Motsuke Nomura
 * starting August 25: Toru Watanabe
 * Iwate Prefecture: Korekiyo Shima
 * Kagawa Prefecture:
 * until October 17: Mohei Hayashi
 * October 17-November 28: Kan'ichi Nakamura
 * starting November 28: Mohei Hayashi
 * Kochi Prefecture: Yuzo Hayashi (until November 26), Iwasaki Nagatake (starting November 26)
 * Kyoto Prefecture: Hase Nobuatsu
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Ryo Shioya (starting January 8)
 * Nagano Prefecture: Tachiki Kenzen
 * Niigata Prefecture: Hirimatsu (starting November 20)
 * Oita Prefecture: Kei Morishita
 * Osaka Prefecture: Yotsutsuji Nishi
 * Saga Prefecture:
 * until July 12: Sadao Koga
 * July 12-December 22: Tesshu Yamaoka
 * starting December 22: Taku Shigeru
 * Saitama Prefecture: Morihide Nomura
 * Shiname Prefecture:
 * until March 30: Masami Terada
 * March 30-September 27: Tanenori Ikeda
 * starting September 27: Kamiyama Ren
 * Tochigi Prefecture: Miki Nabeshima
 * Tokyo: Yuri Kousei (until September 7), Tadahiro Okubo (starting September 7)
 * Toyama Prefecture: Miyoshi Zhou Liang
 * Yamagata Prefecture: ......

Events

 * date unknown
 * Tokyo National Museum is founded.
 * The Imperial Library is established.
 * Tomioka silk mill, Japan's first modern model silk reeling factory, is established by the government.
 * The Ryukyu Domain is created when the emperor changes the title of Shō Tai, the Ryukyu Kingdom's monarch (Ryūkyū-koku-ō), to that of a domain head (Ryūkyū-han-ō). The former Ryukyu Kingdom thus becomes a han.

Births

 * January 22 – Katai Tayama, novelist (d. 1930)
 * March 25 – Tōson Shimazaki, writer (d. 1943)
 * May 2 – Ichiyō Higuchi, writer (d. 1896)

Deaths

 * February 10 - Prince Kitashirakawa Satonari, founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family (born 1850)
 * March 28 - Nambu Nobuyuki, 9th and final daimyō of Hachinohe Domain (born 1814)