32() li- i^'OTO: CAUSE OF THE GREAT 



producing tliis dreadj'nl calamiti), 1 am quite unable to mij. The les.son 

 I have learned from flu's plnjsical convulsion of Kumamoto, is tliat a 

 violent eartJi(fuile often manifests itself its actiritij along some narruu- 

 line or fissure witltin the eartJt's crust. 



The residents of Tokyo ex|)erieiice yearly aljout sixty eartlitjuakes 

 ■\vhieli are, as a ride, fortunately of a feel)le nature. These com- 

 paratively speaking languid earth<(viakes and such paroxysmal 

 varieties, as the convulsicjns i3f Kujnamot«^ and of Central Japan, 

 show some great différences between tliem in their effects, but tliese 

 are not fundamental. Terrible dislocation-earth((uakes present special 

 features of their own. not usually observed in sliglit shocks, 'i'he 

 seismic disturbance in the latter is not s(„) unifbi'nily felt o\er a 

 large area as in the Ibrmer. On the contrary, the sexerely shaken 

 area is common! v confined to a narrow zone, sav a, valley or a 

 mountain slope. In other words, strong eai'thquakes possess seisjuie 

 lines, as in the case of Kumamoto. 



On account of this peculiarity, a series (jf towns and villages, 

 one running into the next, may be completely shattei-ed and laid in 

 ruins, while at a. shoi't distance on both sides damage is com- 

 ])aratively slight. AVhile tra\elling in Mino and Owari after the 

 great convulsi(jn, 1 frequently heard ]>eo])Ie complaining of their 

 own deep suffering, and grudging the happy state of villagers just 

 a tew kilometres awav. I)i*. lîerrv* ])uts the matter well in saving' 

 that he witnessed all over the region (Mino and Owari) the peculiar 

 freaks and destructive violence of its (the earthquake's) course — 

 leaving houses untouched, passing under wIkjIc villages, and only 

 to appear again miles beyond with destructive violence. Even in 

 common earthquakes such as are experienced weekly in Tokyo, 



* I.oc. cil. 



