On This Day – 8 December 1941
One day after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese military the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for the US to declare war on Japan.
14 December
Haruna named after Mount Haruna, was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston, she was the fourth and last battlecruiser of the Kongō class, amongst the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Continue reading “1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches”
12 December
The USS Panay incident was a Japanese attack on the American gunboat Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze River outside Nanking, China on this day in 1937. Continue reading “1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: USS Panay incident”
7 December
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, in the United States Territory of Hawaii, on the morning of 7 Dec 1941. The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II. Continue reading “1941 – World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor”
30 November
The Battle of Tassafaronga, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island was a night naval battle that took place on this day in 1942 between United States Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy warships during the Guadalcanal campaign. The battle took place in Ironbottom Sound near the Tassafaronga area on Guadalcanal. Continue reading “1942 – World War II: Battle of Tassafaronga”
3 November
Godzilla is a 1954 Japanese science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura and Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed the titular character until his retirement in 1972. Continue reading “1954 – The first Godzilla film is released”
24 September – On this day
The Battle of Shiroyama took place on this day in 1877, in Kagoshima, Japan. Continue reading “1877 – The Battle of Shiroyama – the ‘last’ samurai falls”
14 Septmebr – On this day
The Battle of Ishibashiyama was the first in which Minamoto Yoritomo, who was to become shogun less than a decade later, was commander of the Minamoto forces. The battle was fought on this day in 1180 in the southwest of present-day Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture near Yoritomo’s headquarters at Kamakura. Continue reading “1180 – Battle of Ishibashiyama – Japan”
11 September – On this day
Minamoto no Yoriie the second shogun of Japan’s Kamakura shogunate was born in 1182. Continue reading “1182 – Minamoto no Yoriie born”
