On 1 September 1923, an earthquake measuring an estimated 7.9 to 8.4 on the Richter scale struck the Kantō Plain on the Japanese mainland, completely decimating the capital city Tokyo with damage extending well into the surrounding region. With a confirmed death toll of over 105,000, and a further 40,000 presumed dead (plus an additional 6,000, mostly ethnic Koreans and Japanese political dissidents, murdered in the ensuing riots), the Great Kanto Earthquake (Kantō dai-jishin), as it came to be known, ranks among the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th century. Ninety-eight years later to the day, on 1 September 2021, the National Film Archive of Japan launched a website “with the aim of sharing knowledge about the historic disaster and its impact on society via moving images”. At the time of writing, 13 films preserved in the archive’s collection that document the earthquake and its aftermath are available to view online at kantodaishinsai. filmarchives.jp, including the one presented here.

Oliver Hanley