Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016

Presentation information

Poster

Symbol M (Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary) » M-IS Intersection

[M-IS34] The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake and related crustal activities

Wed. May 25, 2016 5:15 PM - 6:30 PM Poster Hall (International Exhibition Hall HALL6)

5:15 PM - 6:30 PM

[MIS34-P103] Materials related to the 1889 Meiji Kumamoto earthquake

*Satoko Murotani1, Nobumichi Ariga1, Fumitaka Wakabayashi1, Masahiro Osako1 (1.Department of Science and Engineering, National Museum of Nature and Science)

Keywords:Meiji Kumamoto earthquake, photo collection on the damage by earthquake, archival materials on scientists

The Meiji Kumamoto earthquake occurred on July 28, 1889. The ground shaking resulted in casualties of about 20, collapse of more than 230 houses, and collapse of Kumamoto Castle’s stone walls. The hypocenter was estimated near Kinbo-zan, which is to the west of Kumamoto Castle, and the magnitude was estimated 6.3 (Utsu, 1982, BERI). There were 292 aftershocks within 21 days, and were 566 aftershocks within 150 days (Imamura, 1920, Reports of the Imperial Earthquake Investigation Committee). The hypocenter of this earthquake differs from that of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, however, many people are now interested in the Meiji Kumamoto earthquake. The National Museum of Nature and Science (NMNS) has some historical materials related to the Meiji Kumamoto earthquake. We introduce about those in this poster.
Rihei Tomishige who was a photographer in Kumamoto took some photos for the disaster of this earthquake. The 11 photos remain in NMNS today, such as the destroyed stone walls of Kumamoto Castle, the damage of military, and the scenery of temporary house. These photos are publicly available on the website of NMNS (http://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/db/science_engineering/namazu/index.html).
Prof. Bunjiro Koto, Prof. Seikei Sekiya, and Hantaro Nagaoka of Imperial University went to Kumamoto to survey this earthquake. Nagaoka examined the damage around Kinbo-zan, and noted the investigations and sketches of damage. NMNS possesses those items as a part of archival materials on scientists.
NMNS has an illustration of the Meiji Kumamoto earthquake which was published a few days after the event. It describes the situations of collapsed houses and people buried beneath them, saying "It's a rare large earthquake we've not seen in recent years."