Series Historical Collection: Speaking to the Future - Disasters - Tokyo National Museum and Earthquakes

On September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12), at 11:58 in the morning, a huge earthquake hit the Kanto region. With its epicenter at Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, this was the Great Kanto Earthquake. It was around lunchtime when the earthquake struck, resulting in huge swathes of Tokyo and Yokohama being devastated by fire. At this museum, Honkan (the main building), designed by the British architect Josiah Conder and used since 1881 (Meiji 14), collapsed and numerous items from the museum's collection suffered damage.

This exhibition features historical material detailing the post-quake state of the museum and the area around Ueno. Tashiro Futami painted a series of 54 oil paintings vividly depicting scenes from the earthquake and donated them to this museum. This exhibition introduces these paintings, together with the Taisho Shinsaishi photo album and several photos and reports depicting the damage to the museum.

Furthermore, the exhibition also portrays the recovery after the earthquake. The ruins of Honkan were demolished and the current building constructed. You can see here official documents and architectural plans relating to the rebuilding, along with scenes from the reconstruction commemoration ceremony held in Tokyo in 1930 (Showa 5).