EAllTHCjUAKE OF CENTRAL JAPAN, 1891. 3^9 



According to the Oßcial Gazette, the epicentral district, the 

 seismi(j ureca of the first order, whicli of course inchided Mini3 and 

 Owari, along with some jmrtions of the neighbouring ])rovinces, 

 extended over 11, 111 s(|uare kilometres, and over this area destruc- 

 tion of buildings and engineering works was well-nigli complete. 

 That of tlie second order reached as far as Kôlje on the west and 

 Shizuoka on the east, over an extent of 44,1)07 square kilometres. 

 AVithin this area several houses fell, walls, embankments, roads, and 

 bridges were ])artia,lh^ damaged, and the water of wells rendered 

 turl/id. That of the tliird order, within whic-h walls of houses were 

 fissured, clocks w^ere stopped, and crockery w^are, \'ases, etc., fell ofi' 

 shelves, embraced ö2.ol5 sipiare kilometres. Effects such as the 

 above were produced in the eastern lialf of Shikoku. and also in 

 Chügoku. and very nuich ihe same thing ha[)pened in 'l'ôkyû and 

 Yokohama. Lastly, disturbances were distinctly felt from Sendai, 

 in the north, to the west coasts of Kyushu in the s«juth, or over 

 an area of lo4.7:2:^ scpiare kilometres. This w-as the last or fourth 

 (jrder of seismic area. Altogether, the area shaken by this earth- 

 (piake in Central Japan will have been about 24o.000 square 

 kilometres, or more than <»()"/„ oï the whole extent of the I'hn[)ire, 

 as may be easily seen by a cursory glance at tlie annexed 

 chart. 



The earth(juake, which lirought with it such disaster, seeuis 

 to have been of a paroxysmal nature, and one ihr which the in- 

 habitants were totally unprepared. Generally speaking, the fre- 

 quency of shocks was high during the month of Octol^er, 1891, and 

 the earth was by no means tranquil then at any time, especially 

 in the provinces of Musashi and Shimôsa. Seventeen separate quakes 

 had been already recorded 1)y the seismographs, previous to the 2Sth, 

 all however conliucd to the \icinity (^f Tokyo. Central Japan itself 



