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1:15in productionCh. 1 · What happened/ 1:15 · ceiling 15 min
Crime & disaster

The Great Kantō Earthquake — 1923

Earthquake, fire and human violence require distinct explanations.

On 1 September 1923, an earthquake devastated the Tokyo–Yokohama region. Collapsed buildings were followed by widespread fires. The disaster also became the setting for killings of Korean and Chinese residents, and some Japanese people.

Crime & disaster
Chapters & takeaways6
  1. 0:00
    What happened

    On 1 September 1923, an earthquake devastated the Tokyo–Yokohama region.

  2. 0:14
    How we know it

    The National Diet Library presents contemporary photographs and the diary of Kuratomi Yuzaburō, who witnessed the earthquake while returning from the Imperial Palace.

  3. 0:28
    Why it went that way

    Fires spread as lunchtime cooking was under way.

  4. 0:42
    What is still contested

    Eyewitness descriptions should not be treated as verified casualty totals.

  5. 0:52
    What it changed

    The immediate aftermath combined destroyed neighborhoods with persecution and arrests of socialists.

  6. 1:04
    Is it worth your time

    Worth understanding through several kinds of evidence.

Worth your time?

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          The written brief1 min read

          What happened

          On 1 September 1923, an earthquake devastated the Tokyo–Yokohama region. Collapsed buildings were followed by widespread fires. The disaster also became the setting for killings of Korean and Chinese residents, and some Japanese people.

          How we know it

          The National Diet Library presents contemporary photographs and the diary of Kuratomi Yuzaburō, who witnessed the earthquake while returning from the Imperial Palace. These records reveal particular scenes rather than a complete regional picture.

          Why it went that way

          Fires spread as lunchtime cooking was under way. Separately, rumors alleging Korean unrest helped provoke murderous attacks. Physical destruction and racist violence were connected in time, but violence was a human response, not a geological consequence.

          What is still contested

          Eyewitness descriptions should not be treated as verified casualty totals. Nor should the circulation of a rumor be confused with evidence that its allegation was true.

          What it changed

          The immediate aftermath combined destroyed neighborhoods with persecution and arrests of socialists. A history confined to damaged buildings misses the people endangered by accusations as well as the tremor.

          Is it worth your time

          Worth understanding through several kinds of evidence. Compare damage records with accounts of violence, asking what each source can establish and whose experience it leaves outside the frame.

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