1933 in Japan explained

Events from the year 1933 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 8 (昭和8年) in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

• Emperor

Hirohito^[1]

• Empress consort: Empress Kōjun
• Prime Minister

Saitō Makoto

Governors

• Aichi Prefecture

Endo Ryusaku (until 21 July); Osamu (starting 21 July)

• Akita Prefecture: Takabe Rokuzo
• Aomori Prefecture: Taku Yasunobu
• Ehime Prefecture: Jiro Ichinohe
• Fukui Prefecture: Shigeo Odachi
• Fukushima Prefecture: Akagi Tomoharo (until 21 July); Shiomi Hatakeyama (starting 21 July)
• Gifu Prefecture: Umekichi Miyawaki
• Gunma Prefecture: Masao Kanazawa
• Hiroshima Prefecture

Michio Yuzawa

• Ibaraki Prefecture

Abe Kashichi

• Iwate Prefecture: Hidehiko Ishiguro
• Kagawa Prefecture: Seikichi Kimijima (until 23 June); Yoshisuke Kinoshita (starting 23 June)
• Kanagawa Prefecture

Sukenari Yokoyama

• Kumamoto Prefecture

Keiichi Suzuki

• Kochi Prefecture: Sakama Osamu
• Kyoto Prefecture

Saito Munenori

• Mie Prefecture: Hirose Hisatada (until 23 June); Saburo Hayakawa (starting 23 June)
• Miyagi Prefecture

Michio Yuzawa (until 21 July); Asaji Akagi (starting 21 July)

• Miyazaki Prefecture: Gisuke Kinoshita (until 23 June); Seikuchi Kimishima (starting 23 June)
• Nagano Prefecture

Ishigaki Kuraji (until 4 August); Okoda Shuzo (starting 4 August)

• Niigata Prefecture

Chiba Ryo

• Okinawa Prefecture

Jiro Ino

• Osaka Prefecture

• Saga Prefecture

Saburo Hayakawa (until 23 June); Nagawa Fujioka (starting 23 June)

• Saitama Prefecture

Shigezo Fukushima (until 23 June); Hirose Hisatada (starting 23 June)

• Shiname Prefecture: Masaki Fukumura
• Tochigi Prefecture: Gunzo Kayaba
• Tokyo

Masayasu Kouksaka

• Toyama Prefecture: Saito Itsuki
• Yamagata Prefecture: Ishihara Yajiro

Events

• January 1-May 31  - Defense of the Great Wall
• February 21 - March 1  - Battle of Rehe
• March 2  - 1933 Sanriku earthquake. Although the earthquake itself does little damage, the associated tsunami, recorded at a height of 28.7m (94.2feet) at Ōfunato, Iwate, caused extensive damage, destroys many homes and causes numerous casualties.^[2]
• April 1  - opening of Inariyama-kōen Station
• April 15  - opening of Moro Station and Ogose Station
• May  - The 9th Far Eastern Games are held in Tokyo.
• May 10  - Tateishi Electronic Manufacturing, as predecessor of Omron was founded.
• May 31  - Tanggu Truce
• July 12  - opening of Naka-Itabashi Station
• August 1  - opening of Fujimigaoka Station, Inokashira-kōen Station, Kugayama Station, Takaido Station and Hamadayama Station
• September 28  - Isetan Department Store of Shinjuku, officially opens^[3]
• October 10  - opening of Keisei Ueno Station
• establishment of Tokubetsu-keibi-tai (Metropolitan Police Department)

Births

• January 1  - Noriko Ishihara, essayist and childhood wife of Shintaro Ishihara (d. 2022)
• January 2
  • On Kawara, conceptual artist (d. 2014)
  • Morimura Seiichi, novelist, author
• January 11  - Mariko Okada, film actress
• February 16  - Yoshishige Yoshida, film director and screenwriter
• February 18  - Yoko Ono, singer, songwriter, and peace activist^[4]
• March 1  - Yoko Minamida, film actress (d. 2009)
• March 18  - Eikoh Hosoe, photographer and filmmaker
• April 15  - Kōji Yada, voice actor (d. 2014)
• April 16  - Takeo Watanabe, musician and composer (d. 1989)
• May 10  - Chikage Oogi, actress and politician (d. 2023)
• May 15  - Juzo Itami, film director (d. 1997)
• May 23  - Shōzō Iizuka, voice actor (d. 2023)
• July 17  - Keiko Awaji, film actress (d. 2014)
• August 1  - Masaichi Kaneda, baseball pitcher (d. 2019)
• August 9  - Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, actress, and author of children's book
• August 16  - Bunta Sugawara, actor (d. 2014)
• September 18  - Hiroshi Suzuki, Olympic swimmer
• October 16  - Nobuyo Oyama, voice actress
• October 20  - Chikara Hashimoto, baseball player (d. 2017)
• October 22  - Mitsuko Kusabue, film actress
• November 8  - Ayako Wakao, film actress
• November 11 – Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, Japanese artistic gymnast (d. 2023)
• December 1  - Fujiko F. Fujio, cartoonist (d. 1996)
• December 10  - Mako, actor, voice actor and singer (d. 2006)
• December 23  - Akihito, 125th Emperor of Japan, fifth child of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kōjun^[5]

Deaths

• January 23  - Sakai Toshihiko, writer and historian (b. 1871)
• February 20  - Takiji Kobayashi, author and novelist (b. 1903)
• March 18  - Sakuzō Yoshino, academic, and political scientist (b. 1878)
• July 27  - Nobuyoshi Mutō, field marshal, Commander of the Kwantung Army, ambassador (b. 1868)
• July 31  - Shimizu Shikin, novelist and women's rights activist (b. 1868)
• September 21  - Kenji Miyazawa, poet and author of children's books (b. 1896)
• October 15  - Inazō Nitobe, economist, author and educator (b. 1862)
• November 3  - Princess Nobuko Asaka, daughter of Emperor Meiji (b. 1891)
• November 8  - Uehara Yūsaku, field marshal (b. 1856)
• December 8  - Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, admiral and Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1852)

See also

• 1933 in Japanese football
• List of Japanese films of the 1930s

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hirohito Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 27 March 2019 . en.
2. The Great Meiji Sanriku tsunami of 1896 is estimated to have generated a wave 38.2 meters high (Masayuki Nakao, "The Great Meiji Sanriku Tsunami"
3. Book: Freedman . Alisa . Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road . 2011 . Stanford University Press . 978-0-8047-7145-0 . 144 . en.
4. Web site: Yoko Ono Biography, Art, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 1 December 2020 . en.
5. Web site: Akihito Biography, Reign, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 27 March 2019 . en.