Great Fire of Edo Great fire of Meireki

1 great fire of edo

1.1 legend
1.2 historical account
1.3 aftermath

great fire of edo
legend

the fire said have been started accidentally priest cremating allegedly cursed kimono. kimono had been owned in succession 3 teenage girls died before ever being able wear it. when garment being burned, large gust of wind fanned flames causing wooden temple ignite.

historical account

the fire began on eighteenth day of year, in edo s hongō district, , spread through city, due hurricane-force winds blowing northwest. edo, japanese cities , towns @ time, , of in mainland east asia, built wood , paper. buildings dry due drought previous year, , roads , other open spaces between buildings small , narrow, allowing fire spread , grow particularly quickly. (many cities in europe had similar problems, being built of flammable material , tightly packed; indeed, london burn 9 years later.) though edo had designated fire brigade, hikeshi (火消し, fire extinguisher ), had been established 21 years earlier, , not large enough, experienced enough, or well-equipped enough face such conflagration.

on second evening, winds changed, , fire pushed southern edges of city towards center. homes of shogun s closest retainers, in kōjimachi, destroyed fire made way towards edo castle, @ center of city. ultimately, main keep saved, of outer buildings, , of retainers , servants homes destroyed. finally, on third day, winds died down, did flames, thick smoke prevented movement city, removal of bodies, , reconstruction, several days further.

aftermath

historical marker memorial victims of great fire of meireki

on 24th day of new year, 6 days after fire began, monks , others began transport bodies of killed down sumida river honjo, sumida, tokyo, community on eastern side of river. there, pits dug , bodies buried; ekō-in (hall of prayer dead) built on site.

reconstruction efforts took 2 years, shogunate took opportunity reorganize city according various practical considerations. under guidance of rōjū matsudaira nobutsuna, streets widened , districts replanned , reorganized; special care taken restore edo s mercantile center, protecting , boosting extent overall national economy. commoners , samurai retainers alike granted funds government rebuilding of homes, , restoration of shogun s castle left completed last. area around castle, restored, reorganized leave greater spaces act firebreaks; retainers homes moved further castle, , number of temples , shrines relocated banks of river.

one of greatest disasters in japanese history, death , destruction incurred meireki fire comparable suffered in 1923 great kantō earthquake , 1945 bombing of tokyo in world war ii. each of these 20th-century events, meireki fire less 3 centuries earlier, saw 100,000 deaths, , destruction of majority of city.