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This chronology is taken from:
Studies on the Modern Buildings on Gunkanjima (1916-1974).
 
  • 1810 Outcropped Coal was discovered.
  • 1870 An Amakusa man opened the coal mining operation
  • The same year Y.Iwasaki established the Tsukumo Company, the predecessor of Mitsubishi.
  • 1882 M.Nabeshima, the lord of Fukahori Manor in the Nabeshima clan, owned the island.
  • 1887 Excavation of the first shaft was begun (laborer's daily wages were 0.25 ~0.50 Yen).
  • 1890 Mistubishi Company bought up the entire land and coalmine.
  • 1891 A distillatory apparatus began to supply fresh water to each door and produced salt.
  • 1893 An ordinary primary school was founded by Mitsubishi.
  • 1894 (The Sino-Japanese War broke out).
  • 1897 The first reclamation was carried out (Yawata Steel was established).
  • 1904 (The Russo-Japanese War broke out).
  • 1905 The southern and western parts of the island was severely damaged by a typhoon.
  • 1906 (Electric lights were installed in Sasebo).
  • 1907 Submarine cables were constructed between the island and Takashima.
  • The Fifth reclamation was carried out.
  • 1910 (Japan annexed Korea)
  • 1914 (The first World War broke out).
  • 1916 Building No.30 was contructed, now the oldest reinforced concrete flats in Japan
    (7 stories high).
  • 1918 Buildings No.16~20 (reinforced concrete flats, 9 nine stories high) were constructed.
  • The steam power station on Takashima Island neihboring Gunkanjima, started supplying electricity tro Gunkanjima.
  • The First World War ended.
  • 1921 'Nagasaki Daily News' designated the Island as "Gunkan-Jima" (from "Hashima") which means "Warship Island" in Japanese, because its appearance on the sea looks like the warship "Tosa".
  • 1922 A crane system landing pier was constructed.
  • 1923 (Great Kanto earthquake disaster).
  • 1925 The southern part of the Island suffered greatly from a Typhoon.
  • The first public Dojun-Kai flats were constructed.
  • 1927 A cinema house, Showa-kan (building No.50) was constructed.
  • 1930 The western part of the island was destroyed by a typhoon.
  • 1931 Yugao-Maru, the first steel ship in Japan, began to be used for the island.
  • The sixth reclamation was carried out.
  • 1932 A water boat, the Mishima-Maru, was launched.
  • Coal transportation by horses in the gallery was changed to conveyor belt.
  • 1933 Women were prohibited from working in the Gallery.
  • 1935 Gunkanjima and Takashima both stopped producing salt.
  • 1937 An infant school was founded by the company on the roof of building No.20.
  • 1938 Submarine telegraph was installed.
  • 1939 Korean laborers mass-emigrated to the island as the coalminers.
  • Energy resources were controlled and distribution control of coal and petroleum were enforced.
  • The Second World War broke out.
  • 1941 The highest output, 411,100 tons of coal in a year was recorded.
  • The pacific War broke out.
  • 1942 A fire broke out at the second pit head.
  • 1943 The restriction act for working hours in the pit was abrogated.
  • The working hours were prolonged to 12~15 hours.
  • The rope of the 2nd pit was cut accidently.
  • 1944 The construction of building No.65 was started.
  • 1945 The steam power station on Takashima was bombed by the U.S. Air Force, which stopped electricity supply to Gunkanjima, and the mining area filled with water. An atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
  • World War II came to an end.
  • 1946 Hashim Labor Union was organised. A special ration for coal mines was institutionalised.
  • 1947 The point system for allocating accommodation of company flats was carried out.
  • A public telephone was installed.
  • 1948 The population jumped to 4,526.
  • 1949 Hashima Kindergarten was established by Takahama Village, originally using the Senpukuji Temple.
  • A movie, “Midorinaki-Shima” (“An Island Without Green”) dealt with hashima.
  • 1950 (The Korean War broke out).
  • 1954 The first dolphin pier was constructed. Submarine aqueduct construction began.
  • 1955 Hashima was incorporated into Takashima Town from Takashima Village.
  • 1956 Southern quay, the dolphin pier and the swimming pool were destroyed by a typhoon.
  • 1957 The submarine aqueduct was completed. A water boat, the Asago-Maru, was scrapped.
  • 1958 The second dolphin pier was constructed (in the following year it washed away).
  • Electric rice cookers, refrigerators and television came into wide use on the island, the earliest in Japan.
  • 1959 The population was at its maximum at 5,259 this year.
  • 1962 The third (existing) dolphin pier was completed. Regular shipping services between Nagasaki and Hashima began.
  • 1963 A tree-planting campaign started on Hashima, earlier than other parts of Japan.
  • 1964 Due to a gas explosion, the lower mining area was filled with water and abandoned. Coal mining was paused for a year.
  • The population decreased to 3,391 from 4,873 in the year before.
  • 1965 Coal mining on Mitsuse began.
  • 1969 Mitsubishi Mining Company seperated the coal mining divisions.
  • Mitsubishi Takashima Colliery Company was started afresh.
  • 1974 The mine was closed on January 15th. Everyone left the island by April 20th.