Earthquake Diary and Other Essays

When the Great Kantō Earthquake strikes, historian Kita Sadakichi runs from a neighbor’s house, searches for his family, and begins recording what he actually sees. Roofs collapse, fires spread, refugees fill the streets, and drinking water becomes a daily problem. Rumors turn neighborhood vigilance into intimidation, while later corrections expose how readily fear transforms ordinary events into imagined threats.

Earthquake Diary follows the first six days of the disaster, from domestic repairs and anxious visits to devastated districts and the loss of irreplaceable archives. Three earlier essays widen its concerns: how communities escaped inherited stigma, what archaeological evidence can reveal about history, and how a title for a headman became a discriminatory label.

Kita’s argumentative scholarship and immediate observations appear together in this complete collection. Historical terminology, contemporary theories, and the author’s own contradictions remain visible, with concise explanatory notes. A new English translation preserves the questions of evidence, responsibility, and memory that connect these writings.