The Korean Massacre
The Japanese public who had grown increasingly xenophobic towards the expanding Korean population began to spread rumors that the Koreans started the fires that were destroying Tokyo. Some of the rumors blamed the Korean population for “setting fires, poisoning wells, raping and looting, and mobilizing an army first emerged in the Yokohama and Kawasaki areas[1]. By mid-day on September 1, 1923 the rumors were spreading as rapidly as the fires.
“6,000 Koreans living in Japan and several hundred Chinese and Japanese mistaken for Koreans, were indiscriminately murdered" by mobs of Japanese urbanites.[2] Groups of vigilante mobs and police officers set out in order to get rid of the 'Korean threat.' For three days the mob violence continued, “people were rounded up, murdered by their neighbors, herded into trucks, dumped into rivers, and killed at police stations where they’d fled for protection.[3]” No person, whether they were Japanese, Chinese, or Korean was safe from the mobs who murdered first and asked questions later.
Finally, on September 4, 1923, “the police distributed 30,000 leaflets that told vigilante groups that due to 'vigorous vigilance' there was no longer any need to ‘oppress them (the Koreans) unlawfully or to inflict any violence upon them.[4]’” By this point, the government had set up camps for Koreans that were considered to be safety zones, heavily guarded and protected in an effort to end the violence. It is estimated that over 3,000 Koreans sought refuge in these camps.[5]
The mass destruction, panic and violence resulted in the government declaring martial law in the city of Tokyo. “Martial law allowed the government to disperse people, prohibit or suppress newspapers or advertisements, seize property, enter buildings, or take any action it deemed necessary to maintain order. Citizens caught in the act of looting were hanged or shot.[6]” The Japanese people were forced to return to social order, a goal once achieved allowed the Japanese military to switch into their more important roles of distributing clothing, food, first aid and launching the reconstruction process.
“6,000 Koreans living in Japan and several hundred Chinese and Japanese mistaken for Koreans, were indiscriminately murdered" by mobs of Japanese urbanites.[2] Groups of vigilante mobs and police officers set out in order to get rid of the 'Korean threat.' For three days the mob violence continued, “people were rounded up, murdered by their neighbors, herded into trucks, dumped into rivers, and killed at police stations where they’d fled for protection.[3]” No person, whether they were Japanese, Chinese, or Korean was safe from the mobs who murdered first and asked questions later.
Finally, on September 4, 1923, “the police distributed 30,000 leaflets that told vigilante groups that due to 'vigorous vigilance' there was no longer any need to ‘oppress them (the Koreans) unlawfully or to inflict any violence upon them.[4]’” By this point, the government had set up camps for Koreans that were considered to be safety zones, heavily guarded and protected in an effort to end the violence. It is estimated that over 3,000 Koreans sought refuge in these camps.[5]
The mass destruction, panic and violence resulted in the government declaring martial law in the city of Tokyo. “Martial law allowed the government to disperse people, prohibit or suppress newspapers or advertisements, seize property, enter buildings, or take any action it deemed necessary to maintain order. Citizens caught in the act of looting were hanged or shot.[6]” The Japanese people were forced to return to social order, a goal once achieved allowed the Japanese military to switch into their more important roles of distributing clothing, food, first aid and launching the reconstruction process.
[1] Mai Denawa, “The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923,” Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship, http://library.brown.edu/cds/kanto/denewa.html (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[2] Mai Denawa, “The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923,” Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[3] Naomi J. Williams, “Family Lore and the Great Kanto Earthquake,” April 18, 2011, http://naomijwilliams.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/great-kanto-earthquake/ (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[4] Mai Denawa, "The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[5] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” University of California, Berkeley, http://nisee.berkeley.edu/kanto/tokyo1923.pdf (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[6] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” University of California, Berkeley (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[2] Mai Denawa, “The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923,” Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[3] Naomi J. Williams, “Family Lore and the Great Kanto Earthquake,” April 18, 2011, http://naomijwilliams.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/great-kanto-earthquake/ (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[4] Mai Denawa, "The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[5] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” University of California, Berkeley, http://nisee.berkeley.edu/kanto/tokyo1923.pdf (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[6] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” University of California, Berkeley (accessed on July 13, 2013).