Sensoji Temple during the Great Kanto Earthquake

-The Era of Reconstruction and Independence of Sensoji Temple

Figure 1: Tokyo’s landmark, Ryounkaku after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. (Photo credit: http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/asakusa_park_after_1923_earthquake)

Figure 2: A postcard that depicts Nakamise-dori before and after the Great Kanto Earthquake. (Photo credit: http://www.greatkantoearthquake.com/earthquake_gallery.html)

The Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1^st, 1923 saw the destruction of the southern side of the Kanto region, as shown in Figure 3 (Imaizumi, Ito, & Okazaki, 2011). In Tokyo city alone, 58,104 people were dead and 10,556 people were missing, accounting for 3.03% of the total city population at the time (Imaizumi, Ito, & Okazaki, 2011). Many parts of the city were engulfed in the earthquake-induced fire with more than 460,000 buildings damaged, either destroyed or burnt down, in the wake of the earthquake (Imaizumi, Ito, & Okazaki, 2011). This was mostly a result of the failure of the water supply system caused by the earthquake, which significantly reduced the fire-fighting capability of the city (Imaizumi, Ito, & Okazaki, 2011). Fortunately, Sensoji Temple and Kaminarimon gate survived the fire that engulfed the rest of Asakusa (Star, 2013). However, Nakamise-dori and Ryounkaku were not as fortunate and did not escape the fire damage this time (Itoda, 2015). They were consequently burnt to the ground by the fire, refer to Figure 1, 2 and 4. 

Figure 3: A map of the fire damage to buildings in each regions of Kanto during the Great Kanto Earthquake. (Photo credit: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6341287.pdf)

Figure 4: A comparison of the topography before the designation of the area as Asakusa Park in 1879 (Meiji period) and after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. The areas in red were affected by the fire caused by the earthquake. (Photo credit: http://oldphotosjapan.com/photos/53/hanayashiki-asukusa-park#.WDw2EKJ95-U)

Although the Asakusa region were restored soon after, Sensoji Temple and its surrounding area did not regain its former glory, as the entertainment district shifted from Asakusa to Ginza (銀座) in the early 1900s, and then to Shinjuku (新宿) and Shibuya (渋谷) after the post-war period when the major railway stations were established in those locations (Itoda, 2015).

The dispersion of the entertainment area was also attributed to the fact that the Japan’s first skyscraper was never reconstructed unlike the shopping street, Nakamise-dori (Star, 2013). This decision was made as part of the reconstruction program by the Imperial Government to make space for public recreational purposes in order accommodate the masses when an evacuation was to occur (Islands, 2004). The Sumida Park near the Asakusa Park was also renovated for this reason after the Great Kanto Earthquake (Islands, 2004).

As Professor Soichiro Itoda (2015) stated, “Today, while many tourists visit the area, most of Asakusa has declined in prosperity because it has lost this (cultural) atmosphere.” 

As a result, Sensoji Temple lost its significance in Tokyo and was neglected by the mass public between the Meiji period and the wartime, in which the reasons were mentioned in the previous article. It was not until the abolition of the Sensoji Temple by the firebombing in WWII that it regained the attention of the public. Thereafter, Sensoji Temple transformed from a religious and entertainment site to a historic landmark that reminded visitors of the peaceful and prosperous time in the Edo period.

According to the Impact of Natural Disasters on Industrial Agglomeration: The Case of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake (2011), the main purpose of land use in the Asakusa region in 1925 was commercial of 81%, followed by residential 14% and industrial 5%. Clearly, Sensoji Temple remained as a place for commercial activities even after the destruction.

References:

Imaizumi, A., Ito, K., & Okazaki, T. (2011). Impact of Natural Disasters on Industrial Agglomeration: The Case of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics. Tokyo: Center for International Research on the Japanese Economy.

Islands. (2004). 東京の戦前　昔恋しい散歩地図 (Vol. 1). 東京, 日本: 株式会社　草思社.

Itoda, S. (2015). Development of New Urban Theory- Asakusa Illuminates Transformation with the Passage of Time: International Asakusa Research Project. Retrieved Nov 23, 2016, from Meiji University: http://www.meiji.ac.jp/cip/english/frontline/itoda/