Ansei Great Quakes
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The Ansei Great Earthquakes (安政の大地震, Ansei no Dai Jishin) were a series of three major earthquakes that struck Japan
during the Ansei
era (1854–1860).
The earthquake was blamed on a giant catfish (Namazu) thrashing about. Ukiyo-e
prints depicting namazu became very popular around this time.
Other notable quakes to strike in the Ansei period include one in the Iga
area, one which registered 7.4 on the Richter scale and struck Kyushu and Shikoku .
The 1858 Hietsu earthquake
struck the Hietsu area on April 9, 1858.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the Ansei
Ansei
was a after Kaei and before Man'en. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was .- Change of era :...
era (1854–1860).
- The Ansei-Tōkai Quake1854 Ansei-Tōkai earthquakeThe 1854 Ansei-Tōkai earthquake was the first of the Ansei Great Earthquakes . It occurred at about 09:00 local time on 23 December, 1854. It had a magnitude of 8.4 and caused a damaging tsunami...
(安政東海地震, Ansei Tōkai Jishin) was an 8.4 magnitude earthquake which struck on December 23, 1854. The epicenterEpicenterThe epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
ranged from Suruga BaySuruga BaySuruga Bay is a bay on the Pacific coast of Honshū in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is situated north of an imaginary line joining Omaezaki Point and Irōzaki Point at the tip of the Izu Peninsula and surrounded by Honshū to the southwest and west and the Izu Peninsula to the east.-Geology:Suruga...
to the deep ocean, and struck primarily in the Tōkai regionTokai regionThe is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name means "East sea" and comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes...
, but destroyed houses as far away as in EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
. The accompanying tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
caused damage along the entire coast from the Bōsō PeninsulaBoso Peninsulathumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....
in modern-day Chiba prefectureChiba Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
to Tosa provinceTosa Provinceis the name of a former province of Japan in the area that is today Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku. Tosa was bordered by Iyo and Awa Provinces. It was sometimes called .-History:The ancient capital was near modern Nankoku...
(modern-day Kōchi prefectureKochi Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the south coast of Shikoku. The capital is the city of Kōchi.- History :Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kōchi was known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chosokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.- Geography...
) - The Ansei-Nankai Quake1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquakeThe 1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake occurred at about 16:00 local time on 24 December, 1854. It had a magnitude of 8.4 and caused a damaging tsunami...
(安政南海地震, Ansei Nankai Jishin) was an 8.4 magnitude earthquake which struck on December 24, 1854. Over 10,000 people from the Tōkai region down to Kyushu were killed. - The Ansei Edo Quake1855 Ansei Edo earthquakeThe , also known as the Great Ansei Earthquake, was one of the major disasters of the late-Edo period. The earthquake occurred at 22:00 local time on 11 November. It had an epicenter close to Edo , causing considerable damage in the Kantō region from the shaking and subsequent fires, with a death...
(安政江戸地震, Ansei Edo Jishin) was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake which struck EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(modern-day Tokyo) on November 11, 1855. One hundred and twenty earthquakes and tremors in total were felt in Edo in 1854-55. The great earthquake struck after 10 o'clock in the evening; roughly 30 aftershocks continued until dawn. The epicenter was near the mouth of the Arakawa RiverArakawa RiverThe is one of the principal rivers flowing through Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. The point of origin is on Mount Kobushi in Saitama Prefecture, and the Arakawa River empties into Tokyo Bay, spanning 173 kilometers. The drainage basin covers 2,940 square kilometers...
. Records from the time indicate 6,641 deaths inside the city, and 2,759 injuries; much of the city was destroyed by fire, leading many people to stay in rural inns. Aftershocks continued for twenty days. This quake was a particularly destructive deep thrust quake caused by a giant slab of rock stuck between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Pacific PlatePacific PlateThe Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
.
The earthquake was blamed on a giant catfish (Namazu) thrashing about. Ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
prints depicting namazu became very popular around this time.
Other notable quakes to strike in the Ansei period include one in the Iga
IGA
Iga or IGA may stand for:-Given name:* a female given name of Polish origin. The name originates from the female given name Jadwiga and stands for gia,or gina in the USA....
area, one which registered 7.4 on the Richter scale and struck Kyushu and Shikoku .
- Kaei 7 (November 4–7, 1854): In NankaidōNankaidoThe , literally meaning "southern sea road," is a Japanese term denoting both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The road connected provincial capitals in this region...
, earthquakes and tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s kill 80,000 people. An earthquake and tsunami struck ShimodaShimodaShimoda can mean:* Places in Japan:** Shimoda, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture** Shimoda, Aomori, a town in Aomori Prefecture* Treaty of Shimoda , between Japan and Russia* Shimoda Toyomatsu, an early Japanese Scouting notable...
on the Ize peninsula; and because the port had just been designated as the prospective location for a U.S. consulate, some construed the natural disasters as demonstration of the displeasure of the kami.
The 1858 Hietsu earthquake
1858 Hietsu earthquake
The took place on April 9, 1858 . It occurred on the Atotsugawa Fault, which connects the Amō Pass in Gifu Prefecture and Mount Tate in Toyama Prefecture on the island of Honshū in Japan. Its name includes one kanji from and one from...
struck the Hietsu area on April 9, 1858.