Earthquakes in Japanese History

With a Focus on the 1855 Ansei Edo Earthquake

This page provides links to items I have written, co-authored or translated pertaining to the interaction of earthquakes and human history in Japan. Most of the items have been published, but a few are only available on this site. Click on the links to access each item.

Academic Articles and Book Chapters:

Ruth Ludwin, co-author, "Folklore and Earthquakes: Native American Oral Traditions from Cascadia Compared with Written Traditions from Japan," in L. Piccardi and W. B. Masse, eds., Myth and Geology  (London: Geological Society of London, 2007): 67-94. (Contact)

"Shaking Up Japan: Edo Society and the 1855 Catfish Picture Prints," <1.3MB> Journal of Social History, 39.4 (Summer, 2006): 1045-1077.

Textbook Chapters:

Sections on the namazu as a special case of yōkai (uncanny beings)

"Japan’s Ansei Edo Earthquake"

Lectures and Presentations:

Ruth Ludwin, co-author. Poster presentation: "Evolution of the catfish (namazu) as an earthquake symbol in Japan" <10MB PDF> (Seismological Society of America Conference, April 2006, San Francisco). (Printable handout <4MB PDF>)

"The Ansei Edo Earthquake as a Political Event" (PDF Slide show)

Catfish as Cultural Symbol in Japan (low res) (medium resolution) (PDF)

"Shaken and Rectified: The 1855 Ansei Edo Earthquake" (Florida International University, February 28, 2008)

"Bakufu Responses to the Ansei Edo Earthquake" (Southern Japan Seminar, March 1, 2008)

Miscellaneous Items:

"Was Emperor Shōmu’s Devotion to Buddhism Prompted by an Earthquake?" (Short newspaper article from Japan to which I added a quick English translation. It is a good example of the kind of cross-disciplinary research involving earthquakes that is rather common in Japan.)