Year

Event

1849

Year 2 of Kael Era – Kenshin's birth (Shinta in june)

1850

Year 3 of Kael Era – Kenshin : 1 year old

1. Decree from the imperial court for the expulsion of foreigners

1851

Year 4 of the Kael Era – Kenshin : 2 years old

1. Nariakira Shimazu becomes the head of the Satsuma fief
2. Dezth of Rôjû (member of the shôgun council) Tadakuni Mizuno

1853

Year 6 of the Kael Era– Kenshin : 4 years old

1. The commodore Perry hooks in Japan with a letter from the President of the United States

1854

Year 1 of the Ansei Era - Kenshin : 5 years old

1. Return of Perry & signature of a friendship treaty between Japan & the United States
2. Signature of the treaty of Shimoda
3. Signature of the friendship treaty between Japan & Great Britain
4. Kenshin is sold to a slave trader

1855

Year 2 of the Ansei Era – Kenshin: 6 years old

1. Kenshin meets Seijûrô Hiko, becomes his disciple & changes his name from « Shinta » to « Kenshin »

1856

Year 3 of the Ansei Era – Kenshin: 7 years old

1. The consul general of the United States, Harris, takes his position in Japan
2. Shôin Yoshida opens his private school, « Shôkason »

1857

Year 4 of the Ansei Era – Kenshin: 8 years old

1. Birth of Mégumi Takani
2. Entry of Harris at the Edo Castle

1858

Year 5 of the Ansei Era – Kenshin: 9 years old

1. Signature of the commerce treaty between the United States & Japan
2. Naosuké II, the head Hikone's fief, becomes Tairô (above even the shôgun council)
3. Signature of commerce treaties with The Netherlands, Russia and Great Britain
4. Beginning of the « Great Emprisonment of the Ansei Era»

1859

Year 6 of the Ansei Era – Kenshin: 10 years old

1. Shôin Yoshida & tha others are condemned to death
2. The fief of Chôshu embraces the xenophobic doctrine (« revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians »)

1860

Year 1 of the Man'en Era – Kenshin: 11 years old

1. The ship Kanrin-maru leaves for the United States (accompanying the 1st Japanese embassy)
2. The incident called « Sakuramon Gai » (the gate of the cherry blossoms) occurs. It's the assassination of Naosuké II
3. Birth of Sanosuké

1861

Year 1 of the Bakyû Era – Kenshin : 12 years old

1. The Tsushima case (the Russian navy tries to invade the Tsushima Islands)
2. Sending of a Japanese embassy in Europe

1862

Year 2 of the Bankyû Era – Kenshin : 13 years old

1. Incident of the Sakashita gate
2. Incident of the Taradaya tavern (resulting in the fact that Chôshû & Satsuma won't ally)
3. Sakon Shimada, liegeman of the Kujo family, is assassinated in Kyôto
4. The Namamugi case
5. birth of Kaoru Kamiya

1863

Year 3 of the Bankyû Era – Kenshin : 14 years old

1. The eve of the date fixed for the « expulsion of foreigners  » that the shôgun had forced ont he Emperor, the rôju Nagamichi Ogasawara already required the closing of the harbors. He also arbitrarily decided to pay the indeminity for the Namagumi case, of 100 000 pounds
2. Chôshuû fires cannons on an American merchants ship
3. The radical Kinmoto Anekôji is assassinated in front of the Sakuhei gate, in Kyôto
4. The American & French ships fire cannons against the Chôshû coast. In reponse to the previous aggression, Shinsaku Takasugi creates the Kihei-tai
5. War between Satsuma & Great Britain
6. Alliance of Satsuma & Aizu at the Nakagawa-gû temple . Th people responsible for the terrorist actions, related to Chôshû, are exiled. The doctrine lauding the foreigners is officially disavowed
7. Creation of the Shinsengumi
8. Kenshin has an argument with Hiko & leaves to become a patriot
9. Birth of Misao

1864

Year 1 of the Genchi Era – Kenshin : 15 years old

1. The Ikedaya case
2. Shôzan Sakuma is assassinated in Kyôto
3. The incident of Kin’mon – an army constituted with Chôshû and Rôshi's samuraï linked to the fief attack Kyôto & get beaten by the common army of Satsuma & Aizu
4. First official war order against Chôshû. Takamori Saigô is at the head of the government army
5. Shimonoseki war

1865

Year 1 of the Keiô Era – Kenshin : 16 years old

1. Civil war at Chôshû
2. Takamori Saigô & Ryôma Sakamoto meet in Kyôto. Satsuma will buy weapon in his name in order to give them to Chôshû.
3. Imperial decree for a second punishing expedition against Chôshû

1866

Year 2 of the Keiô Era – Kenshin : 17 years old

1. Alliance between Satsuma & Chôshû
2. Satsuma refuses to send soldiers in the second expedition against Chôshû
3. The shôgun loses the battle

1867

Year 3 of the Keiô Era – Kenshin : 18 years old

1. The naval troop of Kaientai is created
2. Shinsaku Takasugi dies of tuberculosis
3. Ryôma Sakamoto goes to Kyôto & signs a secret treaty with Takamori Saigô & Toshimichi Ôkubo
4. The shôgun Yoshinobu Tokugawa gives back the power to the Emperor
5. Ryôma Sakamoto & Shintarô Nakaoka are assassinated in Kyôto, in the Oumi-ya tavern
6. Return to the imperial regime

1868

Year 1 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 19 years old

1. Battle of Toba-Fushimi & beginning of the Boshin war
2. Kenshin & Saitô fight
3. 5-article oath of the Emperor
4. The Sekihôtai is discredited & Souzô Sagara is executed
5. Thanks to the interview of Kaishu Katsu with Takamori Saigô, the new imperial army enters Edo without any further bloodshed
6. Isami Kondô is executed
7. Edo becomes Tôkyô
8. The castle of Wakamatsu at Aizu holds a month before fallling to the new army's hands, that destroys the entire fief for not submitting
9. Mégumi Takani is separated from her family because of the war at Aizu
10. After managing to leave the Bay of Tôkyô, Takeaki Enomoto takes the rest of the navy of the shôgun to Hokkaidô. there, they found an « independent republic » that will continue to resist the new government for some time
11. Kenshin becomes a wanderer & receives the reversed blade sword that Shakkûmade for him

1869

Year 2 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 20 years old

1. Death of Toshizô Hijikata fighting. The fort of Goryûkaku / Hakodaté, Hokkaidô, gives up & the war of Boshin ends up
2. The feudal seigneurs must give their fiefs and men to the imperial authority
3. All of the social classes receive new titles, instead of the traditional ones
4. Birth of Yahiko

1870

Year 3 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 21 years old

1. The « people » (that used to be separated into classe: : peasants, commercials & artisans) also obtain the right to wear family names

1871

Year 4 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 22 years old

1. The ancient fief are transformed into prefectures

1872

Year 5 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 23 years old

1. Creation of the railroad linking the station of Shinbashi in Tôkyô tot Yokohama
2. The lunar calendar is abandoned for the occidental solar calendar

1873

Year 6 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 24 years old

1. Creation of the law for the conscription
2. Proposition of a reform of the property tax system
3. Toshimichi Ôkubo becomes minister of the newly created Home Office

1874

Year 7 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 25 years old

1. The police prefecture of Tôkyô is created

1875

Year 8 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 26 years old

1. Reunion in Osaka of Takayoshi Kido, Toshimichi Ôkubo & Aisuké Itagaki

1876

Year 9 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin: 27 years old

1. Cr"ation of the law on the prohibition of wearing a sword
2. Following this law, insurrection called jinpuren, in Kumamoto. Numerous other rebellions appear afterwards, like the rebellion of Akigetsu, or the one of Hagi
3. The peasants also frequently rebel, notably against the law on the conscription

1877

Year 10 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin: 28 years old

1. Seinan war & death of Takamori Saigô
2. Death of Takayoshi Kido (aka Kagorô Katsura)
3. Death of Kaoru's father

1878

Year 11 of the Meiji Era – Kenshin : 29 years old

1. Arrival of Kenshin in Tôkyô
2. Assassination of Toshimichi Ôkubo