Both restricted the grandiose dreams of reconstruction opportunists. The large number of images, maps, and diagrams here and in the linked image archives available on this site serve as an ideal companion to The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan available on Amazon.
This website is also intended to serve as a companion to two courses that I teach at the University of Hong Kong. These courses introduce students to a wide range of translated primary historical documents as well as emotive visual materials associated with the catastrophe and reconstruction of Tokyo. New York: Columbia University Press, The Author. All Rights Reserved.
The creation of this website is a direct result of a University of Hong Kong Teaching Development Grant secured in conjunction with the two courses listed above. In contrast, some will never forget the desperateness of human nature as people looted personal belongings from the dead or sacrificed another's life for their own survival. In addition, some survivors praised the government's quick relief efforts after the quake while others were frustrated by shortages in medical supplies, housing, and food.
In an event such as the Great Kanto Earthquake that had influenced so many lives, it is inevitable to encompass all aspects of the quake. Unlimited to the Kanto Earthquake, certain events signify different things to each individual based on the things witnessed, heard, and experienced.
Personal narratives emerging from the earthquake can be categorized into two main types: those stories edited by the government, and those that lacked government editing. As an example of each, this paper will closely examine earthquake accounts in the government-edited Taisho shinsai giseki and the non-government edited interviews conducted by Osamu Hiroi. Understanding why the government created such publications will become clearer as the key differences in these two types of narratives are examined.
All narratives, whether government-edited or not, inevitably become external to an event. The government-edited narratives, however, were re-constructed to emphasize those emerging themes they saw fit, and then distributed these ideas to the public.
Each narrative will be investigated for what the survivor chose to include in its recount, as well as what was left out. Exploring both sources may perhaps bring the audience today a closer understanding of the true sentiments of the survivors.
The Taisho shinsai giseki Taisho era Collection of Heartwarming Stories was published by the Tokyo Municipal government in order to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Kanto Earthquake.
The Japanese government compiled nearly stories after asking for submissions of personal narratives recounting the earthquake. There are no conflicting answers to questions of whether people were morally well-behaved or whether the government was helpful after the quake struck in the government-edited Taisho shinsai giseki.
The government-edited personal accounts stress central themes depicting heroic rescues and selfless mutual assistance. The narratives carefully chosen and distributed by the Japanese government portray a positive image of both the Japanese government and populace.
The messages behind these narratives are that: the Japanese people behaved courageously and admirably through acts of self-sacrifice, and the Japanese government successfully supported its citizens in time of emergency. In contrast, the narratives gathered through interviews conducted by Osamu Hiroi depict a breadth of opinions that emerged after the quake. Yes, they too included examples of heroic rescues but these narratives also incorporated opinions criticizing the behavior of the nation's government and people.
This the government-edited narratives never did. Thus, by recognizing these underlying differences between the two sources and identifying what and why things were told in the government-edited stories of the Taisho shinsai giseki , it becomes apparent that the Japanese government had a specific objective in mind when distributing these stories to the people.
These government publications reflect the government's attempt to cover-up an event that revealed morally-unjust acts committed by both ordinary citizens and leaders of Japan soon after the quake- the Korean Massacre. One story from each source has been selected to provide specific examples to depict these differences. The two stories are: "The Mayor who Sheltered the Koreans" from the Taisho shinsai giseki and "My friend in the hihukusho " from the interviews.
The government-edited stories can be distinguished from non-government edited stories in that they contain two key differences in their underlying messages. First, as mentioned earlier, the central theme in Taisho shinsai giseki was heroism. Victimization was emphasized in the interview accounts. Second, while the government-edited stories of the Taisho shinsai giseki emphasize the government's effectiveness in providing aid to survivors of the quake, the interview accounts highlight government insufficiencies in providing aid.
Before furthering the argument however, it will be beneficial to provide supplementary background on the event itself. In what came to be known as the Korean Massacre, 6, Koreans living in Japan and several hundred Chinese and Japanese mistaken for Koreans, were indiscriminately murdered by the Japanese. The massacres were due at least in part to false rumors that the Koreans were planning an uprising. False rumors that the Koreans were: setting fires, poisoning wells, raping and looting, and mobilizing an army first emerged in the Yokohama and Kawasaki areas.
When and why did such rumors begin to circulate? It is said that the rumors started mid-afternoon of September 1, spreading across the nation by September 4, reaching even the northernmost island of Hokkaido.
The people's panic manifested itself through gradual belief in these false rumors. Psychiatrists have suggested that the minority Koreans became the target for feelings of anger the Japanese felt against the injustice of fate and being victims of the earthquake and fires. Moreover, prejudice and hostility the Japanese populace had toward Koreans, especially since Japan's colonization of Korea in , could only explain such extreme measures taken during the massacre though the Japanese government did not want to admit it.
In order to guard against "possible attack," local vigilante groups, jikeidan , with the support of the government, police, and military stationed themselves in neighborhoods and refugee camps, killing "lawless Koreans" on the spot with Japanese swords and bamboo poles.
The frenzy subsided September 4, when the police distributed 30, 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. The Japanese government felt that it needed to take additional actions to somehow minimize the damage the Korean Massacre would have on Japan's image.
The reality was this: extreme measures taken by the Japanese population, most likely due to anti-Korean sentiments, resulted in the murder of thousands of Koreans. The state hoped to limit domestic and international criticism, and needed to prevent the harboring of anti-Japanese sentiment in its own colonized country Korea as a result of the Korean Massacre.
For instance, the Japanese officials in both Japan and Korea prohibited Korean refugees from returning to Korea to prevent them from spreading rumors there about the massacre. Even newspapers were censored and articles related to the massacre of Koreans were prohibited.
Underlying messages within the Taisho shinsai giseki reflect the Japanese government's solutions to these concerns by "re-writing history" in a subtle manner through its distribution of narratives reflecting the government's own version of history.
The government-edited Taisho shinsai giseki emphasizes the tremendous heroism displayed both during and after the earthquake in addition to the government presence in aiding the survivors of the earthquake. Both underlying messages are attempts to re-write the history of the event. The emphasis on heroes depicts the idea that the massacre was caused by the irrational actions taken by a select few individuals, rather than the mass involvement of the population. The government portrays itself as having a helpful role in aiding the survivors, specifically the Korean refugee population.
This reflects the government wishes to dispel beliefs that anti-Korean sentiments were the source of the widespread nature of the massacre. The government's attempt to cover-up certain aspects of the Korean Massacre become clearer as the interviews reveals another aspect of what the survivor remembered as reality in his version of experiences surrounding the earthquake.
The interviews not only emphasize the traumatic experience of the quake but also the failures of the Japanese government in providing aid. One of the most significant differences between the two sources of stories is the absence of a hero in the online interviews. In contrast, the theme of heroism is strongly emphasized in almost all stories in the Taisho shinsai giseki.
The Taisho shinsai giseki is even organized into the sections: rescue, fire prevention, responsibility, and love, with heroes clearly defined in each one. Such titles include, "With wit, he saves lives," "Sacrificing one's own life to save thirty others," and "An individual's strength. In addition, with the heroes' overwhelming portrayal of values such as loyalty to the Emperor, sacrifice, and courage, the government hoped to overshadow the violence created by a morally-degraded people.
The heroism depicted in "The Mayor who Sheltered the Koreans" from the Taisho shinsai giseki will be examined. The story begins with his refusal to comply with the jikeidan's demands to "bring out the Koreans.
Despite awareness that he was risking his own life through failure to acquiesce to demands, Soda tries to reason with the jikeidan that not all Koreans are taking part in the uprising, and that not all are bad people. He tries to reason with the jikeidan that he could not understand why they would suddenly turn their back on the Koreans when they were all part of an intimate community: these Koreans always bought rice from one member of the jikeidan , or shared the same bath house as some of the other members.
Soda claims that he knows them well and that if he left them on the street, it would be like "a cat chasing a mouse" in that they would be instantly killed by other jikeidan groups. In response to the jikeidan's question of whether Soda would take full responsibility if the Korean employees did set fires, Soda agreed automatically.
On September 11th with the help of the Setagaya Chief of Police, Soda organized a refuge to protect nearly 1, Koreans bringing firewood, rice, somen noodles, towels, and medical supplies. His benevolence and dedication inspires the townspeople to act similarly, and they too begin to bring money and vegetables to help the Korean community. Sympathy, rather than hatred and anxiety manifested itself as the townspeople themselves saw the Koreans' "peaceful, quiet faces," tired from injuries and sickness.
Concluding the story, a thank-you letter from one of the nearly 1, Korean refugees sent to Soda, is enclosed. The government used the theme of the hero to convey the idea that the majority of the Japanese population did in fact, act similarly as heroes such as Soda.
The story suggests that most Japanese citizens tried to protect the Korean community just as Soda had. He wrote,. The Great Kanto Earthquake triggered another horrifying result.
In the hours and days following, nationalist and racist rhetoric took hold across Japan. Stunned survivors of the earthquake, tsunami, and firestorm looked for an explanation or a scapegoat, and the target of their fury was the ethnic Koreans living in their midst.
As early as mid-afternoon on September 1, the day of the quake, reports, and rumors started that the Koreans had set the disastrous fires, were poisoning wells, looting ruined homes, and planning to overthrow the government. Approximately 6, unlucky Koreans, as well as more than Chinese mistaken for Koreans, were hacked and beaten to death with swords and bamboo rods.
The police and military in many places stood by for three days, allowing vigilantes to carry out these murders in what is now called the Korean Massacre. Ultimately, the disaster sparked both soul-searching and nationalism in Japan. Just eight years later, the nation took its first steps toward World War II with the invasion and occupation of Manchuria.
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