| 1860 | 28 October: Born as the third son of Kano Jirosaku Kireshiba in the town of Mikage (now Kobe), Hyogo Prefecture |
| 1870 | Moved to Tokyo with his father |
| 1881 | July: Guraduated from the University of Tokyo |
| 1882 | January: Employed as a teacher at Gakushuin |
| February: Founded the Kano Juku | |
| March: Founded the Kobunkan (English school) in Minami-Jimbocho | |
| May: Founded the Kodokan Institute on the grounds of Eishoji Temple in Shitaya-Inaricho | |
| July: Graduated from the Faculty of Ethics and Aesthetics in the University of Tokyo's Department of Aesthetics and Morals | |
| 1885 | April: Appointed steward and professor at Gakushuin |
| 1886 | June: Appointed professor and head teacher at Gakushuin |
| 1891 | August: Appointed principal at the Fifth Higher Secondary School |
| 1893 | January: Appointed Director of the Archives Division in the Education Minister's Secretariat |
| June: Appointed principal of the First Higher Secondary School | |
| September: Appointed principal of the Higher Normal School | |
| 1896 | April: Accepted 13 government-sponsored students from China |
| 1897 | September: Resigned as principal of the Higher Normal School |
| November: Appointed principal of the Higher Normal School | |
| 1898 | June: Appointed director of primary education at the Ministry of Education (until November that year) |
| 1899 | October: Established the Akaraku-shoin School in Kanda Misakicho for receiving students dispatched by the Chinese government. This relocated to Nishigokencho in Ushigome Ward and was renamed Kobun Gakuin in January 1902. |
| 1909 | July: Closed the Kobun Gakuin due to a decline in the number of students from China |
| Fall: Appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee | |
| 1911 | April: Established a judo teacher training school in the Kodokan |
| July: Established the Japan Sports Association and was appointed president | |
| 1912 | July: Japan's first participation in the Olympic Games at the 5th Olympiad in Stockholm |
| 1920 | January: Retired as principal of Tokyo Higher Normal School |
| 1921 | March: Retired as president of the Japan Sports Association and became honorary president |
| 1922 | January: Established the Kodokan Culture Association |
| 1924 | March: Appointed honorary professor of Tokyo Higher Normal School |
| 1936 | July: Attended the IOC Session in Berlin where Tokyo succeeded in its bid to host the 12th Olympic Games (1940) |
| 1938 | March: After attending the IOC Session in Cairo, traveled to North America and fell ill with pneumonia on the NYK Line's MV Hikawa Maru out of Vancouver, passing away on 4 May. His body arrived at Yokohama Port on 6 May. He was 79 years old at the time of his death. |
