February 5:

Events

• 1348 - Emperor Go-Murakami of the Southern Court leaves Yoshino. (Traditional Japanese Date: Sixth Day of the First Month, 1348)
• 1597 - Toyotomi Hideyoshi arrests 26 Christians and sentences them to death. (Traditional Japanese Date: Nineteenth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1596)
• 1872 - The Meiji government announces the issuance of new paper money. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-seventh Day of the Twelfth Month, 1871)
• 1901 - Japan fires up the furnace at its first modern ironworks.
• 1905 - Japan's first bus line opens between Yokogawa and Kawabe in Hiroshima. However, due to opposition from horse carriage drivers, the service is abolished nine months later.
• 1920 - 24,000 strike at the Hachiman Ironworks.
• 1931 - Tōkyō Airline and Transport Co. holds the first ever examination for prospective stewardesses (referred to at the time as "air girls"). One hundred forty-one young women apply for only three open positions but later quit because of the low pay.
• 1936 - The Japan Occupational Baseball League is formed, launching professional baseball in Japan.
• 1987 - The X-ray satellite the Astro C is launched.

Births

• 1852 - Terauchi Masatake (d. 1919), field marshal and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Japan
• 1917 - Isuzu Yamada (d. 2012), actress
• 1944 - Tamanoumi Masahiro (d. 1971), sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna
• 1953 - Takashi Ishikawa, wrestler
• 1955 - Kenji Ohba, actor
• 1956 - Mao Daichi, actress
• 1972 - Koriki Chōshū, comedian
• 1977 - Yuko Aoki, singer and model
• 1982 - Yū Kobayashi, voice actress
• 1986 - Takayuki Seto, footballer
• 1994 - Arisa Komiya, actress and model
• 1994 - Saki Nakajima, singer