Events in the year 1872 in Japan.
Incumbents
Emperor: Emperor Meiji
Empress consort: Empress Shōken
Governors
Aichi Prefecture: Iseki Ushitora (starting April 2) Akita Prefecture: Shima Yoshitake (January 29-July 29), Sugio Magoshichiro (starting July 29) Aomori Prefecture: J. Hishida Fukui Prefecture: Kotobuki Murata Fukushima Prefecture: until January 20: Tomoharu Kiyooka January 20-June 2: Miyahara starting June 2: Taihe Yasujo Gifu Prefecture: Joren Hasegawa Gunma Prefecture: Sada Aoyama Hiroshima Prefecture: Date Muneoki Ibaraki Prefecture: until July 10: Yamaguchi August 8-August 13: Motsuke Nomura starting August 25: Toru Watanabe Iwate Prefecture: Korekiyo Shima Kagawa Prefecture: until October 17: Mohei Hayashi October 17-November 28: Kan'ichi Nakamura starting November 28: Mohei Hayashi Kochi Prefecture: Yuzo Hayashi (until November 26), Iwasaki Nagatake (starting November 26) Kyoto Prefecture: Hase Nobuatsu Miyagi Prefecture: Ryo Shioya (starting January 8) Nagano Prefecture: Tachiki Kenzen Niigata Prefecture: Hirimatsu (starting November 20) Oita Prefecture: Kei Morishita Osaka Prefecture: Yotsutsuji Nishi Saga Prefecture: until July 12: Sadao Koga July 12-December 22: Tesshu Yamaoka starting December 22: Taku Shigeru Saitama Prefecture: Morihide Nomura Shiname Prefecture: until March 30: Masami Terada March 30-September 27: Tanenori Ikeda starting September 27: Kamiyama Ren Tochigi Prefecture: Miki Nabeshima Tokyo: Yuri Kousei (until September 7), Tadahiro Okubo (starting September 7) Toyama Prefecture: Miyoshi Zhou Liang Yamagata Prefecture: ......
Events
date unknown
Tokyo National Museum is founded. The Imperial Library is established. Tomioka silk mill, Japan's first modern model silk reeling factory, is established by the government. The Ryukyu Domain is created when the emperor changes the title of Shō Tai, the Ryukyu Kingdom's monarch (Ryūkyū-koku-ō), to that of a domain head (Ryūkyū-han-ō). The former Ryukyu Kingdom thus becomes a han.
Births
January 22 – Katai Tayama, novelist (d. 1930) March 25 – Tōson Shimazaki, writer (d. 1943) May 2 – Ichiyō Higuchi, writer (d. 1896)
Deaths
February 10 - Prince Kitashirakawa Satonari, founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family (born 1850) March 28 - Nambu Nobuyuki, 9th and final daimyō of Hachinohe Domain (born 1814)