Official
A modern earthquake that hit Chuo-ku
■ This month, NHK featured a program entitled "Experience Capital Directly Below the Capital Week", featuring dramas and disaster assumptions, explaining the necessity of disaster prevention and mitigation. There was a disaster that was due to the modern times, and I saw it and felt frustrated for myself who had not prepared anything. Despite the great damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
■ Therefore, this time, we decided to take up the two modern earthquakes that hit Chuo-ku, and once again look back on the horror of the disaster.
※Materials were quoted from the special exhibition "Chuo-ku from the History of Disasters" held at the Chuo Ward Local Tenmonkan from October to December 2018.
（1） Meiji Tokyo Earthquake
■ On June 20, 1894, the largest earthquake in the Meiji era, major earthquake (magnitude 7.0) directly below the southern Kanto region occurred in Tokyo. In the midst of modernization with the aim of breaking away from the fire city, which has been ridiculed as “fire is the flower of Edo,” bricks and storehouses, which had been increasing as fire-resistant buildings, became dashed, and many buildings were hit hard.
The most common damage was a brick chimney. The majority (376) of brick chimneys in Tokyo collapsed.
■ Among Tokyo City, the damage in Nihonbashi Ward was large, and according to a survey at that time, of the 3,996 damaged collapsed buildings in the entire city, 849 houses in Nihonbashi Ward were the largest, and 569 in Kyobashi Ward.
In this major earthquake, most of the storehouses lined up on Man riverbank (Tori 1-chome; now Nihonbashi 1-chome) were damaged by the collapse of clay roof tile and walls.
In the area around Tsukiji, the earthquake destroyed the third floor of the Rikkyo School school building and the central tower at Tsukiji Reservoir No. 37 (now Akashicho), causing the only casualties in Nihonbashi Ward and Kyobashi Ward. .
▲ Situation of Nipponbashinishi Riverside (currently Yaesu 1-chome and Nihonbashi 1-chome) where the walls of the storehouse collapsed
(Report No. 4 of the Earthquake Prevention Investigation Committee, from 1895)
▲ Rikkyo School Building damaged by the earthquake
(Rikkyo Institute of History and Archives)
（2） Great Kanto Earthquake
▲ evacuation site and the dead during the Great Kanto Earthquake
(Provided by Yukio Nishida, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University)
■ The Sagami Bay-epicenter Earthquake, which occurred on September 1, 1923 in 1923, caused enormous damage to the entire Kanto region by magnitude 7.9.
■ More than 105,000 people died in missing person, more than 370,000 houses were completely destroyed, partially destroyed, burned or washed away, and nearly 90% of the victims were caused by fire. A violent wind with fire (fire whirlwind) occurred in multiple areas, causing rapid spread of fire. Many areas were burned down due to the fire, and Tsukishima was burned down due to a fire that crossed the Sumida River, which is 200-300m.
In addition, in this earthquake, unfounded rumors flew around, causing persecution to Koreans.
▲ Postcards of burnt sites around Nihonbashi
▲ Postcard Ginza Street from Kyobashi, the catastrophe of the Great East Japan Earthquake