The season of the first wind of spring has arrived. Strong winds blow from the south, roughly signaling the change of winter and spring. Many people may be relieved by the arrival of spring. However, the first winds of spring have not yet arrived,Two hundred and thirty years ago, the first day of spring brought unprecedented catastrophe to Kyoto.

The work of man, or the work of a demon, or perhaps the work of the sun and the moon, will not happen again, for the city of flowers has become a field.

is a line from "Kyo-yake Temari Uta," a song sung by girls in Kyoto at that time while playing temari (Japanese handball).

Temari (image)

The song is about the Great Fire of Tenmei, one of the three great fires of Kyoto, which occurred in the early morning of New Year's Eve, 1788 (the 8th year of the Temmei Era). On that day, a strong southeasterly wind, the first of spring, was blowing over the city of Kyoto.

The fire is said to have started in a house in a corner of Danguri-zuko (a small street running east to west on the border of Miyagawa-suji 1-chome and 2-chome) in Higashiyama-ku, Tokyo. The flames quickly spread, fanned by the wind, and spread across the Kamo River to Shichijo Dori in the south, Senbon Dori in the west, and Kuramaguchi Dori in the north,Four-fifths of the city was burned to the ground.

The Danguri Zuko

The lyrics of the Kyo-yake Temari Uta song introduced at the beginning of this article, "Is it man's work or devil's work?" struck me as odd. In fact, a strange rumor was later spread about the fire. At dawn, just before the fire broke out, a young girl in a white kimono entered a vacant house in Danguri Zuko with a lit candle in her hand, as if she were going to disappear into the house. A neighbor, who was up early, witnessed the fire that immediately broke out in the vacant house. There were also rumors that a firebird appeared out of nowhere in the sky over Kyoto, and that every time it flapped its wings, sparks of fire scattered and the flames spread.

Was the house where the fire started in Danguri Zuko an abandoned house with a history, who was the girl with the candle, and what kind of a monster bird was the firebird?　In the end, the government office that was supposed to control the fire burned down, and the cause of the fire remained a mystery.

Today, in the precincts of Seinka-in Temple, located in Teramachi Hirokoji-agaru, Kamigyo-ku, stands a memorial tower erected after the Great Fire, inscribed with the inscription, "The graves of 150 people who died and burned to death in the fire. A stone monument next to the pagoda inscribed "Kyoufu" (mad wind) refers to the strong winds that caused the great fire.

Memorial pagoda for the Great Fire of Tenmei in the precincts of Seiyokein Temple

Stone monument inscribed with "Kyoufu

It is said that during the Great Fire of Tenmei, boards, shoji screens, sliding doors, and other items on fire became fireballs, flying across the Kamo River and falling here and there, quickly spreading the fire. The scene may have looked like a bird of fire flying around. That is exactly what it looked like.A catastrophe caused by a "mad wind," a magical act of the people of that time.It was.

There were other strange occurrences during this fire. At Jofukuji Temple, located at Ichijo Kamigyo-ku, Jofukuji-dori, the fire stopped just before the east gate, known as the red gate.

Red Gate of Jofukuji Temple

According to temple lore.A Tengu from Kurama swooped down on the red gate and created wind with a huge fan to drive away the fire.It is said that the fire was extinguished by a large ginkgo tree on the temple's grounds. Also, at Nishi Honganji Temple in Shimogyo Ward, a large ginkgo tree on the temple grounds is said to have blown water and extinguished the fire, thus conveying the various wonders of the fire to the present day.

Large ginkgo tree at Nishi Hongwanji Temple

By the way, the lyrics of the Kyo-yake Temari Uta end as follows.

The 20-monme chestnut boards are now used by carpenters all over the world...

People were not just mourning in the face of this catastrophe.Immediately, work began on the reconstruction of the city, and a large number of personnel and materials were gathered in the capital. The city of Kyoto enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom due to the reconstruction and restoration of the city.

Before spring arrives in earnest, we should be prepared for a major disaster, remembering the Great Fire of Tenmei, which occurred 230 years ago, and the Great East Japan Earthquake, which will soon be seven years old.