The Fires
Some say timing is everything, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck around noon; lunchtime. The coals from cooking fires moved about on the wooden floors of houses and buildings, fires broke out and quickly spread. “A fire whirl emerged during Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake and killed 38,000 people in just 15 minutes.[1]” Thousands of people flocked to a large area removed from buildings where they thought they would be safe. “Of the nearly 40,000 people who fled to a large open space in the Military Clothing Depot in Honjo, all but 2,000 perished from fire or suffocation as cyclones of superheated air, almost devoid of oxygen, swept through at 70-80 kph. This single location was to account for close to 40 percent of the quake’s total fatalities. Another tragedy occurred in the Yoshiwara brothel quarter, where 630 inhabitants, unable to escape the walled enclosure, died in the fire.[2]”
Approximately two thirds of Tokyo was burnt to the ground as a result of the firestorms caused by the Kanto earthquake. “In Yokohama alone, 88 separate fires began to burn simultaneously and the city was quickly engulfed in flames that raged for two days.[3]” The fires mixed with winds created cyclones of fire, also known as fire devils or fire tornadoes. These flaming whirlwinds aided the fire in spreading across great distances and fueling flames that were already lit. Thousands of people died from the fires in a “horrifying combination of people who were trapped in collapsed buildings and those who took refuge in areas that were later surrounded and consumed by fire. The greatest loss of life occurred at the Military Clothing Depot in Honjo Ward.[4]”
Some have estimated that no less than 80% of the total destruction in Yokohama was caused by fire.[5]
Approximately two thirds of Tokyo was burnt to the ground as a result of the firestorms caused by the Kanto earthquake. “In Yokohama alone, 88 separate fires began to burn simultaneously and the city was quickly engulfed in flames that raged for two days.[3]” The fires mixed with winds created cyclones of fire, also known as fire devils or fire tornadoes. These flaming whirlwinds aided the fire in spreading across great distances and fueling flames that were already lit. Thousands of people died from the fires in a “horrifying combination of people who were trapped in collapsed buildings and those who took refuge in areas that were later surrounded and consumed by fire. The greatest loss of life occurred at the Military Clothing Depot in Honjo Ward.[4]”
Some have estimated that no less than 80% of the total destruction in Yokohama was caused by fire.[5]
For more art, try these websites:
- "All My Eyes: Japan's Devastating Earthquake, 1923," http://allmyeyes.blogspot.com/2011/03/japans-devastating-earthquake-1923.html (accessed July 13, 2013).
- University of Washington Library, Digital Collections: Japan, http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=all&CISOBOX1=Japan&CISOFIELD1=covera&CISOOP2=exact&CISOBOX2=&CISOFIELD2=title&CISOOP3=any&CISOBOX3=&CISOFIELD3=title&CISOOP4=none&CISOBOX4=&CISOFIELD4=title&CISOROOT=/ic (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[1] James, Charles D. "The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire," University of California, Berkeley, "Fire," (accessed on July 2013).
[2] Mark Schrieber, “Hell on Earth in ’23,”The Japan Times, August, 26, 2001, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2001/08/26/general/hell-on-earth-in-23/#.UeFt9XAXdU1 (accessed on July 12, 2013).
[3] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” Univeristy of California, Berkeley, “Fire,” http://nisee.berkeley.edu/kanto/tokyo1923.pdf (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[4] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” Univeristy of California, Berkeley, “Fire,” (accessed on July 13, 2013).
[5] “The 1923 Tokyo Earthquake and Fire,” Univeristy of California, Berkeley, “Fire,” (accessed on July 13, 2013).