Chronological table

Japan Year Events related to Africa Africa→Japan Japan→Africa Explanation
Primitive ages Around 3000 BC Ancient Egyptian civilization.     Ancient Egyptian civilization existed along the reaches of the Nile River.
Around 920 BC Establishment of the Kingdom of Kush.     Kush, the oldest African kingdom, existed in the region encompassing the area between what is now southern Egypt, northern Sudan, and Ethiopia.
Around 7th century BC Establishment of the Kingdom of Aksum.     The predecessor of the Ethiopian Empire, which was established in the Ethiopian highlands. According to mythology, the country was founded by Menelik, the son of King Solomon and Queen Sheba.
Ancient times Before 8th century Establishment of the Ghana Empire.     It originated in West Africa and flourished with trans-Saharan trade.
Around 7th century Populated by Muslim merchants in East Coast cities.     Swahili cities such as Malindi, Zanzibar, and Kilwa flourished through Indian Ocean trade using the monsoon winds. Bantu and Arabic were mixed to form Swahili.
Kamakura period (1185-1333) 1240 Establishment of the Mali Empire.     Established in the same area as the Ghana Empire. Prospered via trans-Saharan trade. Timbuktu was known as the city of gold.
Muromachi period (1336-1573) 1352 Visit to Africa by Ibn Battuta.     Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan Muslim jurist, visited Mali and Sudan. He later wrote Rihla [GA61-G1].
1417 Zheng He's visit to Africa.     Zheng He from Ming visited countries along the East African coast.
1488 European reached the Cape of Good Hope.     Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope.
1498 Vasco da Gama’s voyage.     Vasco da Gama pioneered a route to India via the Cape of Good Hope. Having had some relations with Swahili City as seen in the fact that he employed marine pilots in Malindi, he later fought against Swahili City for the hegemony of trade in the Indian Ocean in the “Age of Exploration.”
15th to 16th century   Watermelons are introduced into Japan.    
16th century The King of Monomotapa expanded his sphere of influence.     The King of Monomotapa established a kingdom near present-day Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe ruins, a megalithic structure, are said to have been built by their ancestors in the 12th to 15th century.
16th to 18th century The period of the slave trade.     African people were taken as slaves to the Americas and elsewhere. From the beginning of the 19th century, slavery was abolished, but still, smuggling was rampant.
Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600) 1581   Yasuke became ODA Nobunaga's retainer.    
Edo period (1603-1868) 1652 Construction of the Cape colony.     The Netherlands established a Cape colony in South Africa. It became British territory in 1795.
17th to 19th century   Black people stayed in Dejima.    
1830 French invasion into Algeria.     France invaded and annexed Ottoman Algeria.
1847 The Republic of Liberia was founded.     The Republic of Liberia was founded.
1856 Livingstone's crossing of Africa.     Livingstone, an explorer from Scotland, explored Africa a total of three times. During this period, various “explorations” were also conducted by Europeans, which laid the groundwork for the Scramble for Africa.
1862     The first Japanese Embassy to Europe passes by steam locomotives from Suez, Egypt, to Alexandria.  
1863     The second Japanese Embassy to Europe took a group photo in front of the Sphinx.  
Meiji period (1868-1912) 1869 Opening of the Suez Canal.     A canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea was drilled by Lesseps, of France. Since the route is shorter than the route around the Cape of Good Hope, many ships still use it.
1880 The First Boer War begins.      
1884 The Scramble for Africa begins at the Berlin Conference.     Colonial rule by European powers seriously started. There were resistance movements in various places, but they were suppressed by modern European equipment.
1885–1897     Strange Encounters with Beautiful Women [Y994-L2522] was published. TOKAI Sanshi wrote a novel against colonialism. The story involved battles in Egypt and Madagascar.
1893–1896 The First Italo-Ethiopian War.     Ethiopia repelled Italian troops and maintained its independence.
Around 1896     Karayuki-san  
1898     FURUYA Komahei went to Cape Town and opened Mikado Shokai.  
1899 The Second Boer War begins.     The Second Boer War broke out between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic. After this war, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic were annexed by the British Empire. In 1910, the Union of South Africa came into being with the unification of the Cape colony.
1900     IWASAKI Kanzo and others went to Durban and opened a laundry shop.  
1903     NAKAMURA Naokichi enters Cape Town, South Africa on his round-the-world trip.  
1904     AKASAKI Denzaburo starts a business in Madagascar.  
1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War     When the Russian Baltic Fleet headed for Japan, it passed along the coast of Africa, and in Madagascar, information was sent to the Japanese mainland from Japanese living there. It is also said that the victory over the West affected the consciousness of the people in Asia and Africa.
1911   The first hippopotamus was imported to Ueno Zoo.    
Taisho period (1912-1926) 1912   The article titled “Japan and the Japanese” was published in Madagascar.   The article contrasted independent Japan with colonized Madagascar. However, the author, Ravelojaona, had never visited Japan directly, and the article was based on information such as books.
1914–1918 World War I     In Africa, conflicts also occurred between colonies of Britain, Germany, and other countries.
1919 Paris Peace Conference.     The principle of self-determination was advocated, but it did not extend to Africa and Asia, and the colonies were not liberated. The German colonies were divided by the victors.
1923 The tomb of Tutankhamun was found.      
1925   African Indigenous Art was published.    
Showa period (1926-1989) 1927     Noguchi Hideyo enters Accra, Ghana.  
1930     HACHISUKA Masauji accompanied the expedition to the Congo.  
1931   Ethiopian envoy Heruy visited Japan.    
1934   Ethiopian imperial family recruited a bride in Japan.    
    Black South African boxers visited Japan.   According to the newspaper article at the time, a black boxer called “Peter George” came to Japan and fought against a Japanese boxer. Also, it is written that other “black boxers” came from India and Ceylon.
1935–1936 The Second Italo-Ethiopian War.     Ethiopia was occupied by Italy. However, they regained their independence in 1941 with the cooperation of the United Kingdom.
1939–1945 World War II     African colonies also provided soldiers and resources and helped to wage war. While at great cost, their experiences in the military contributed to the enhancement of African political rights.
1951     Ueno Zoo officials went directly to Africa to buy animals.  
1956   Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I visited Japan as a State Guest.    
1960 Year of Africa     Following Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957, African countries achieved their independence in the 1960s. 1960 in particular is called the “Year of Africa” because many countries became independent.
    The assumption of the ambassador of Ghana in Japan.    
    Japan began accepting trainees for economic cooperation.    
1964   Athletes from African countries participated in the Tokyo Olympics.    
1965   The exhibition of Tutankhamun was held in Japan.    
      Establishment of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.  
1970   Mazisi Kunene visited Japan.    
1972     A Japanese became the governor of the National Bank of Rwanda.  
1974     Foreign Minister Kimura visited Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time as foreign minister.  
1984     KUROYANAGI Tetsuko visited Tanzania as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, who became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1984, visited Tanzania the same year. The image of Africa suffering from famine became widely known to Japanese people through the media.
Heisei period (1989-2019) 1993 TICAD I (First Tokyo International Conference on African Development) was held.     TICAD I was held in Tokyo on Oct. 5-6. This conference produced the “Tokyo Declaration” and promoted “South-South cooperation,” in which Africa utilizes Asian knowledge for development.
2013 TICAD V was held.     On June 1-3, TICAD V was held in Yokohama. The “Yokohama Declaration 2013: Hand in Hand with a More Dynamic Africa” presented efforts to promote “robust and sustainable economy,” “inclusive and resilient societies,” and “peace and stability.”

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