The Hawaiian gazette., 1894-07-20

startling dimensions transpired. That,
however, amply one for any delay,
and by the extent of the area affected,
and by the terrible evaetation
wrought, maintained the reputation
of Japan for being subject to such
fearful visitatiOns. Less extensive in
area, but more serious locally, the
recent shock will undoubtedly be
looked upon as the most severe YokO-
hama has experienced since the ad-
vent Of foreign rs. It was a startling
reminder that this is the land of earth
quakes, and, indeed, Japanese his
tories TEEN with incidents of the phe-
nomena. There is Legend that in
286 b. c., FUiiyama was formed, as
well as Lake Biwa, by one of these
subterTanean uheavals. The earliest
authentic instance is that which oc-
Cured 4l6 A. D., when the Imperial
Palace was thrown to the ground.
Again in 500, the buildings through
out the province of Yamato were all
destroyed, and special prayers were
ordered to be offered up to the deity
of earthquakes. In $40. tremendous
shock caused many tissures, or chasms,
to open in the province of ChikuZen
and Chicugo, in Kiushiu, the largest
of these assures being four miles in
length and twenty feet in width. In
6S5, a terrible disturbance occurred.
Mountains were toppled over, rivers
overflowed, and tremendous destrue-
tion resulted. In the province of Tosa
an area of five million tsubo sank into
the sea. But coming to later period,
we find that in 1902 the lofty walls of
the outside and inside moats of the
castle of Yedo were destroyed, tidal
waves broke along the coast in the
vicinity, and the road leading through
the famous pass of HakOne, was closed
up by alteration in the surface of the
earth. Indeed Tokyo has been fire.
quently victimiZed, and fire in nearly
every instance has supplemented the
catastrophe. In 1908, such calamity
happened, costing, II is estimated, the
lives altogether of 200, 900 persons, and
laying the capital in ruins. We have
not space here to refer to all the raw
ages of this terrible visitant, but con
fining ourselves to the present century
we note that Dewa was the theatre of
repeated clncussions in 1904, and in
1922 $50 shocks were felt in Tokyo in
the course of three days. Once more,
in 1928, an earthquake occurred in
Echigo, and 10000 men, women and
children were destroyed. Two years
later Kioto was afflicted. The Trku-
gawa Palace, MILO, was among the
buildings overthrown, while the num-
Der of people slain was described as
innumerable. 1t was not one shock,
but three, following each other in
rapid succession at in the afternoon,
the ground rocking like waves. The
affrighted people were too terror
stricken to do anything, and it was
many days before their nses returned
to them. Other shocks occurred in
the same year, in 1885 and in 1917,
and then in 1854 provinces Surugu,
Mikawa, Ise, Totomi, Iga, Settsu and
Harima, as well as the whole of Shi-
kOhu were severely shasen 1t was
this earthquake which destroyed the
town Of ShimOda, in the province of
Izu, which had beeu opened as for
eign port in Japan, while a Russian
frigate, the Diana, lying in the harbor
at the time, was severely damaged by
the sho X, and the waves which it
had raised, that she had TO be- ahan-
dOned The last great shock, prior to
the '-Ifn catastrophe, o'-curred on
November 10Th, 1855. On that occa-
sioA Tokyo again suffered. The chief