More About the Basics of Fire Prevention Laws and Regulations [Special Chapter]

The History of Fires and Firefighting in Japan and Six of its Major Cities [#4]

The History of Firefighting(Osaka and Kobe)“The History of Fires and Firefighting in Japan and Six of its Major Cities” is a compilation of the historyof ﬁres and ﬁreﬁghting in Japan and six of its major cities and related data from 1950 to 2020 intended to
introduce the state of ﬁres and ﬁreﬁghting in Japan to the rest of the world. The fourth installment of thisseries of special chapters will focus on Osaka and Kobe.

Kyōichi Kobayashi, Ph.D. (Engineering)

Professor, Center for Fire Science and Technology, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science

5-5 Osaka1) The history of Osaka
Osaka is located 400 km west of Tokyo, and forms part of the Kansai region along with Kyoto and Kobe. With a population of 2.7
million, Osaka is the third most populous city in Japan and is the administrative, economic, and transportation center of the Kansai
region and western Japan as a whole.
Osaka has long flourished as a hub for sea, river, and land transportation, and until the 16th century was a gateway for trade andexchange with China, Korea, Spain, and other foreign countries.
Toward the end of the 16th century, Osaka temporarily became the political and economic center of Japan, but by the early 17th
century it had lost its political core to Edo (now Tokyo) and was no longer able to trade with foreign countries. Nevertheless, forthe next 250 years, Osaka continued to prosper as the commercial, economic, and financial center of Japan, and a unique popular
culture emerged.
After the establishment of modern Japan in 1868, the new government adopted an economic policy centered on Tokyo. As aresult, Osakaʼs status as a commercial city declined, and it gradually became an industrial city with a focus on the textile industry.
In 1925, Osakaʼs population grew to 2.11 million, making it at one time the largest city in Japan, surpassing Tokyo, whose
population had declined after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
Toward the end of World War II, Osaka, like other major cities in Japan, was destroyed as a result of intense air raids by the U.S.
military. In Osaka, eight air raids using napalm bombs destroyed a total of 310,955 houses, killed 10,383 people, injured 35,543,
and sunk 3,162 ships.
After the war ended, an urban development plan was formulated as part of the Japanese governmentʼs war reconstruction
project, and Osaka rapidly rebuilt itself through the development of commerce, industry, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
The city subsequently experienced rapid economic growth and developed into a metropolis slightly different from that of Tokyo,
characterized by its reputation as a city of the common people.
Today, Osaka is a vibrant, cosmopolitan metropolis with an area of 225 ㎢ and a population of 2.7 million.
(Reference materials: “The History of Osaka”, City of Osaka)2) The history of firefighting in Osaka
In Osaka, the first fire defense organization was established in 1634. This firefighting organization consisted of fiveorganizations, one of which was a public fire brigade, while the other four were volunteer fire brigades made up of ordinary
citizens.
Until the mid-19th century, as in other large Japanese cities, all buildings in Osaka were made of wood, and the only fire pumps
were manually powered and inadequate. Therefore, when a fire broke out, the fire brigade destroyed neighboring houses to createa firebreak zone to prevent the fire from spreading into a large-scale urban fire. For this reason, many members of the fire brigade
were carpenters and construction workers who were familiar with the structure of houses.
In 1869, under the direction the new government, which had just been created following the establishment of modern Japan, 10
fire brigades with a total of 500 firefighters were formed.

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In 1880, the decision was made for the police to take command of the fire department, with 7 fire brigades and 311 firefightersassigned to each of the 4 fire stations.
Subsequently, due to a series of large-scale urban fires that destroyed hundreds to thousands of houses, steam fire pumps were
deployed at all four fire stations in 1888, followed by the first fire pumper in 1911.
After World War II, each municipality assumed responsibility for firefighting activities. The Osaka Municipal Fire Department
was created in 1948, and initially consisted of 16 fire stations, 29 sub-branches, 1,089 full-time firefighters, 180 fire engines, and 1
ambulance. Osaka remained the only city in Japan without a volunteer fire corp until 2008, when a volunteer fire corp was formed,
but it has still not taken the form of those in other cities.
Since then, the Osaka Municipal Fire Department has been strengthened as the cityʼs size, population, and economy have grown.
(Reference materials: “Firefighting in the 100 years since the Meiji Restoration”, Osaka Municipal Fire Department)

3) Data on fires and fire service systems in Osaka
Table 10 Key ﬁreﬁghting-related data for Osaka (2020)

Population

2,705,995

Total Area

225㎢

Osaka City Expenditures(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 1,758.6B(USD 15,987M)*

Firefighting expenses(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 37.1B(USD 337M)*

No. of public firefighters

3,567

No. of volunteer firefighters

0No. of fire department (public)25

No. of Volunteer fire corps

0Fire pumpers(including volunteer fire corps vehicles)

152

Ladder trucks

27

Fire and disaster prevention helicopters

2

Fire boats

2

Ambulances

87

Prepared based on the 2020 White Paper on Fire Service and the FY2018
Municipal Accounts Card.
*Converted at JPY 110 to USD 1 (exchange rate at the time of 2018)

Table 11 Major ﬁres in Osaka (1868-2020)

Date

Buildings or districts
where the fire occurred

No. ofburnedhousesFatalities

Injuries

Overview

11/30/1875

Takeyamachi

300

Urban fire

2/20/1876

Dotonbori

300

Urban fire (broke out in a theatre)

12/24/1880

Kasayamachi, Minami-ku

11/23/1881

From Horie to Kita

591

Urban fire (broke out in a brothel in Horie)

1/9/1884

From Hashidumecho
to Uchihonmachi

957

A large-scale urban fire which broke out from a brothel inHorie. This fire led to the adoption of steam fire pumps andthe reform of the fire service system in 1888.

9/5/1890

Nishi-ku

12/20/1892

Spinning mill andsurrounding private houses

7/31/1909

2,989

Urban fire (broke out in Kasayamachi)

127(including
Urban fire (broke out in Shinmachi 1-chome)
76 firefighters)

2,110

1

270

100

Kita-ku

11,365

6

A large-scale urban fire which broke out in Kushincho
69 2-chome. The northern part of Osaka was almost completely
destroyed in the fire.

1/16/1912

Minami-ku

4,070

2

90 Urban fire (broke out from a brothel in Nambashinchi)

5/5/1917

Warehouse43

82 A warehouse exploded, spreading fire to the surroundings.

1/29/1940

Freight train carrying
gasoline

189

67

79

A large amount of gas leaked due to a broken city gas pipe,
accumulated at a subway construction site, and exploded.
406 Many passersby and people who gathered after learning of
the accident were killed or injured, and many surrounding
houses were destroyed in the fire.

4/8/1970

Subway construction site

88

25

A fire at a spinning mill spread to surrounding houses, and100 female weavers burned to death.

A freight train carrying gasoline derailed and overturned,
then exploded.

5/13/1972

Large-scale multipurpose building

118

During the night, a fire broke out in a department store
undergoing renovation, and smoke spread to the upper
81 floors. Many customers and employees of a cabaret
operating on the top floor were killed or injured. The death
toll is the highest in postwar Japan.

6/24/1977

Dormitory

12

3

5/18/1988

Vessel11

A fire broke out near the cabin of a Soviet cruise ship
35 anchored in Osaka Port, killing and injuring a number ofpassengers.

10/1/2008

Private video parlor(a series of very small privaterooms used for watching
videos that also serve asbudget accommodations)

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During the night, a guest set fire to his room in an attempt
to commit suicide. Because the hallway was narrow and
10 maze-like with only one entrance and exit, many of the otherguests were unable to evacuate and died, but the culprit
survived.

A fire broke out in a construction workerʼs dormitory, killingand injuring many construction workers who were sleeping.

Urban ﬁre: Fires that have destroyed approximately 300 or more houses, excluding wars.
Other ﬁres: ﬁres with 10 or more fatalities(Prepared based on “The Encyclopedia of Environment, Disasters and Accidents (published by Maruzen)” and the White Papers on Fire Service)㎢

1,000 people― Population (left axis)― Area (right axis)

Figure 28 Population and area of Osaka (1950-2020)

Number― Total― Buildings― Forests― Vehicles― Other

Figure 29 Number of ﬁres in Osaka (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)

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←Large-scale gas explosion at a subway
construction site (79 fatalities, 406 injuries)

people― Fatalities― Injuries

Figure 30 Fatalities and injuries from ﬁres in Osaka (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)
people― Public ﬁreﬁghters― Volunteer ﬁreﬁghters

Figure 31 Number of ﬁreﬁghters and volunteer ﬁreﬁghters in Osaka (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

Number― Fire pumpers(including volunteer ﬁre corps)*Total of standard ﬁre pumpers and ﬁrepumpers with water tanks― Ambulances

Figure 32 Number of ﬁre pumpers and ambulances in Osaka (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)27

5-6 Kobe
1) The history of Kobe
Kobe is located 430 km west of Tokyo, and forms part of the Kansai region along with Kyoto and Osaka. The port of Kobe haslong flourished as an excellent natural port.
Around the 10th century, Kobe served as a hub for maritime traffic between the capital Kyoto and the Seto Inland Sea.
In the 12th century, Kobe became the center of trade with China and for a very short time was the capital of Japan.
From the early 17th century to the mid-19th century, Kobe flourished as the center of domestic shipping in the Kansai region as
the Japanese government severely restricted foreign trade and exchange.
In 1858, the Japanese government accepted the U.S. governmentʼs demand to open the country for trade, which was backed bymilitary force, and resumed exchanges and trade with foreign countries. At this time, the Japanese government decided that Kobe
would be one of the ports to receive foreign ships, and in 1868, the port of Kobe was opened as an international trading port.
After the opening of the port, a foreign settlement was established in Kobe, and Western lifestyles were adopted in everythingfrom food, clothing, and housing to entertainment and culture, and Kobe rapidly developed into an international trading city.
When Kobe was declared a city in 1889, it had a population of 135,000.
Later, Kobe continued to grow as a major Asian trading port along with Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. At the sametime, industries centering on shipbuilding, steel, and machinery developed along with the port, making Kobe one of the leading
heavy industrial cities in Japan.
Toward the end of World War II, Kobe became an important strategic target for the U.S. Military and was repeatedly bombed by
B-29s. Most of the cityʼs buildings, industrial facilities, and port facilities burned down, resulting in many casualties. The afflicted
area accounted for 21% of the urban area around Kobe, with 141,983 houses destroyed, 7,491 people killed, and 17,002 people
injured.
After the war ended, a plan for the reconstruction of Kobe, which had been destroyed by air raids, was formulated based on
the Japanese governmentʼs master plan for afflicted areas, and a reconstruction project was initiated. In this plan, it was decided
that Kobe would be positioned as an “international trading city” and that the city would be developed through a combination ofcommerce, industry, culture, and tourism. The current city of Kobe was built on the basis of this reconstruction project.
During the postwar period of rapid economic growth, the city of Kobe reclaimed coastal areas by using soil removed from thebackside of the mountains behind the city to create artificial islands. These artificial islands were developed into port facilities,
commercial facilities, industrial facilities, and residential areas, while the sites in the mountains where soil was removed for land
reclamation were developed into residential areas and industrial parks.
On January 17, 1995, Kobe was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake. This earthquake, whose epicenter was located undergroundin the immediate vicinity of Kobe, completely destroyed 105,000 buildings, killing 6.4 thousand people and injuring 40,000. It
also caused a massive urban fire that destroyed 7,000 homes.
The Japanese government, Hyogo Prefecture, and Kobe City began a reconstruction project immediately after the earthquake,and Kobe was soon rebuilt. Today, Kobe is a beautiful international port city with an area of 557 ㎢ and a population of 1.5
million.
(Reference: “The History of Kobe Exhibition Room”, Kobe City Museum)2) The history of firefighting in Kobe
The fire brigade that became the foundation for the Kobe City Fire Bureau was created at the beginning of the 18th century.
About 200 citizens worked as a fire brigade to extinguish fires when they broke out, but firefighting was difficult because all of
the buildings at that time were made from wood.
By the time the port of Kobe was opened as an international trading port in 1868, there were seven citizen-organized firebrigades, and in 1874, a modern fire defense organization was created with 10 fire brigades and 500 firefighters.
After World War II, firefighting activities became the responsibility of each municipality. The Kobe City Fire Bureau wascreated in 1948, and initially consisted of 6 fire stations, 748 full-time firefighters, 39 fire engines, 1 ambulance, and 5,425
volunteer firefighters.
Since then, the Kobe City Fire Bureau has been strengthened as the cityʼs size, population, and economy have grown.
(Reference materials: “Firefighting in Kobe”, Kobe City Fire Bureau)

283) Data on fires and fire service systems in Kobe
Table 12 Key ﬁreﬁghting-related data for Kobe (2020)

Population

1,515,821

Total Area

557㎢

Kobe City Expenditures(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 801.1B(USD 7,283M)*

Firefighting expenses(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 18.8B(USD 171M)*

No. of public firefighters

1,580

No. of volunteer firefighters

3,740

No. of fire department (public)10

No. of Volunteer fire corps

10Fire pumpers (including volunteer
fire corps vehicles)49

Ladder trucks

11
2 (in operation:
3 helicopters)

Fire and disaster prevention helicopters
Fire boats

2

Ambulances

41

Prepared based on the 2020 White Paper on Fire Service and the FY2018
Municipal Accounts Card.
*Converted at JPY 110 to USD 1(exchange rate at the time of 2018)

Table 13 Major ﬁres in Kobe (1868-2020)

Date

Buildings or
districts where
the fire occurred

11/2/1968

Hot-spring hotel

1/17/1995

Nagata-ku

No. ofburnedhousesFatalities

30
441

8

Injuries

Overview

Many fire prevention defects were found in violation of the
44 law, and proper fire extinguishing and evacuation instructions
were not provided, resulting in numerous casualties.
Fire caused by Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1/17/1995

Nagata-ku

750

60

Fire caused by Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1/17/1995

Nagata-ku

996

73

Fire caused by Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1/17/1995

Nagata-ku

1,130

48

Fire caused by Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1/17/1995

Nagata-ku

404

5Fire caused by Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1/17/1995

Nagata-ku

699

40

Fire caused by Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

Urban ﬁre: Fires that have destroyed approximately 300 or more houses, excluding wars.
Other ﬁres: ﬁres with 10 or more fatalities(Prepared based on “The Encyclopedia of Environment, Disasters and Accidents (published by Maruzen)” and the White Papers on Fire Service)㎢

1,000 people― Population (left axis)― Area (right axis)
Figure 33 Population and area of Kobe (1950-2020)

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Number

Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake→― Total― Buildings― Forests― Vehicles― Other

Figure 34 Number of ﬁres in Kobe (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)
peopleGreat Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake→― Fatalities― Injuries

Figure 35 Fatalities and injuries from ﬁres in Kobe (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)
people― Public ﬁreﬁghters― Volunteer ﬁreﬁghters

Figure 36 Number of ﬁreﬁghters and volunteer ﬁreﬁghters in Kobe (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

30

Number― Fire pumpers(including volunteer ﬁre corps)*Total of standard ﬁre pumpers and ﬁrepumpers with water tanks― Ambulances

Figure 37 Number of ﬁre pumpers and ambulances in Kobe (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following individuals fortheir invaluable cooperation in collecting and organizing materials for this report.
Nobuhito Ōtsu, National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster
Kōichi Katō, Tokyo Fire Department (Retired)
Yasuo Satō, Tokyo Fire Department (Retired)Takeo Takahashi, Tokyo Fire Department (Retired)
Yumiko Taniguchi, Tokyo Fire Department (Retired)
Takeshi Yatsurugi, Yokohama City Fire Bureau (Retired)
Takayuki Ishikura, Nagoya City Fire Bureau
Jun Takagi, Kyoto City Fire Department
Hidemitsu Nishida, Osaka Municipal Fire Department
Seito Yamashita, Kobe City Fire Bureau
Hitoshi Kurioka, Japan Association of Fire Protection Engineers
Taiki Tomatsu, Japan Association of Fire Protection Engineers
Masataka Ogawa

This report was translated from articles on the FESC Monthly, June-September 2022 published by Fire Equipment & Safety Center of Japan.

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