Digging up local history to update the culture of disaster preparedness

“The Kansai area will never experience a major earthquake.” That was how many people felt before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. But if we examine history, most areas in Japan have records chronicling the devastation caused by earthquakes, and Kobe is no exception. Project Associate Professor MATSUSHITA Masakazu leads the division promoting regional cooperation in education at the Office for Promoting Regional Partnership, and his activities are focused on making it easier for residents to be aware of past disasters, based on information provided by memorial stones and historical documents that remain in local areas. We asked him about the importance of learning from local records and passing on the culture of disaster preparedness to future generations.

Many people assumed that a major earthquake would never happen in Kobe before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

Matsushita: When I was a student at Kobe University, I had a part-time job helping with the archaeological digs at the Nishimotomezuka burial mound in Nada-ku of Kobe City. I was working in the top area of the burial mound, where the stone chamber was located, when I struck on something hard. It was a blue object, which to our surprise actually turned out to be a triangular-rimmed mirror decorated with divine beasts. I had stumbled upon an unexpected find for that location, and it was because the stone chamber had collapsed due to a two-meter drop in the ground, caused by the Keicho-Fushimi earthquake of 1596. In other words, it was proof that Kobe had experienced a major earthquake in the past.

A local briefing was held in December 1994 to share the results of the excavation, including this finding, and then the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck just a month later on January 17, 1995. It was a moment of deep regret because I had been aware that Kobe had been devastated by an earthquake in the past and had simply failed to realize that it might also happen to us.

My research interests started with the history of ancient texts, studying relationships between the emperor and the aristocracy, and it essentially had nothing to do with regional history. But my experience at Nishimotomezuka burial mound, making the connection between the excavation work and the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, made me realize how important it is to learn local history through remaining records.

Even family photos can be excellent sources of information for local history

What kind of activities did you engage in after the earthquake?

Matsushita: One month after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, I participated in the volunteer activities of the Rekishi Shiryo Network (Historical Records Network), which aims to preserve and rescue historical materials in the event of large-scale disasters. I was told to go to the editorial office of the monthly town information magazine Center in Kobe Sannomiya Center Gai Shopping Street to salvage the magazines from the half-collapsed building. At the time, I had doubts about the need to rescue newly issued publications. But if we think about it, even Heisei-era town information magazines become historical records a few decades later. In other words, they are ancient documents of the future. So, at the time, I had simply judged the value of documents by how old they were.

Nevertheless, I then decided to continue to help in the efforts to salvage documents and went around the old houses in Kobe City. I soon noticed that people had different ideas about historical documents compared to researchers. The general public tends to think of historical documents/records as works of art in museums. But even records of residents’ associations or old family photographs can be valuable historical material, because the loss of such records can mean losing material that could help restore the history of families and communities.

As the activities of the Historical Records Network spread throughout the country, I also started paying attention to damage caused by flooding in addition to damage by earthquakes. In 2004, I went to Toyooka City in Hyogo Prefecture, which had been ravaged by Typhoon No. 23 (“Tokage”), and there I learned how even wet or muddy material can be dried with a vacuum freeze dryer, or how there is technology to clean each page of a book. This prompted me to expand my activities to include salvaging water-logged material. It is very slow, arduous work, and I am still cleaning water-logged books from 20 years ago.

What would you say is the significance of local residents protecting records of local history?

Matsushita: As I continue my activities, I now believe that, rather than trying to salvage historical records after a natural disaster, it would be better to look at local historical records during normal times, and communities should play a role in protecting them. In 2002, Kobe University’s Graduate School of Humanities established the Community Outreach Center, and this led to residents of the Tanabara area of Tamba City asking us to help them sort through the many ancient documents in their possession. They had a small shrine which had kept the documents from three to four centuries ago, and we spent a year and a half cataloging approximately 1,000 items with the local people. Working together also provided an opportunity for the local residents to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the region.

In addition, when I wrote a book about the “Ubusunagami” — the guardian deity of the place of one’s birth — after reading an ancient document about the deity, this led to many people in local communities telling me that they wanted to write about their deities. This grew into a cultural movement where people did the research, compiled the knowledge, and wrote books for themselves. I believe that the true significance of these activities is in people learning about the history of the area they live in and passing on the knowledge to future generations. After seeing the series of initiatives, the Tamba City Board of Education said that they wanted to expand the activities throughout the entire city; and in 2007, Kobe University’s Graduate School of Humanities and Tamba City agreed on a partnership to work together.

Thanks to these activities over the years, I have become somewhat proficient in deciphering the cursive script of historical records, and can point to the parts that are important. Earlier on, I could only tell people vaguely that old historical documents are valuable assets that villages should treasure, but now I can be more specific. For example, the “Shumon nimbetsu aratamecho” is a local population register of the Edo period, and it enables us to understand details such as a temple-parishioner’s family members, the wife’s place of birth, ages when people were married and had children. Being able to read these documents has helped me convey the specific importance of keeping these records, informing people that they are precious records of their ancestors.

Historical records are not only for maintaining communities, but also for protecting lives

We hear that your recent activities also include digging up records of natural disasters.

Matsushita: I am currently sifting through old documents to find records of natural disasters, as I believe that historical documents are extremely important sources of information in terms of supporting communities and protecting human lives. In the past, I only used to look at disasters in ancient history, such as the earthquakes during the Heian period related to the Yamasaki fault zone, which extends from Okayama Prefecture to Hyogo Prefecture. But recently I have been more focused on finding traces of natural disasters in records from the Edo period and onwards.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, we were studying the tsunami memorial stones in the coastal areas of Mie, Wakayama, Osaka, Tokushima, Kochi, and Miyazaki prefectures as part of efforts to prepare for the predicted Nankai Trough earthquake. We engaged in translating what was written on the stones into modern Japanese and conveying the content to the local people. As inscriptions carved in cursive style can be tricky to read, the general public is often unaware of what is written. So this activity provides opportunities for people to learn about the disasters that may have occurred in the past.

Besides memorial stones, records of earthquake damage can also remain in local communities in other forms. For example, a local community in Gobo City of Wakayama Prefecture was in possession of ancient documents that recorded past disasters. The residents decided to translate the content into modern Japanese, and carved that information onto a new memorial stone, which they then placed on the grounds of a shrine at the top of a hill, which currently serves as an evacuation site in the event of an earthquake. The information describes how tsunamis were also triggered by the 1707 Hoei earthquake and 1854 Nankai earthquake in the Edo period, and the local community performs evacuation drills, instructing residents to evacuate to the shrine. Since these kinds of unique regional activities may not be well known to other communities, we also try to connect communities and regions, and this has inspired people to work on initiatives in their own communities.

Eliminating assumptions and preparing for disasters based on local records

What activities are you planning for the future?

Matsushita: If you go to Hamakomyo-ji Temple which is to the south of Akashi Station, there is a memorial stone to commemorate those who died in the tsunami and fire triggered by the 1854 Nankai earthquake. There are also records that the bridge over the Akashi River was replaced at the time, after it had been destroyed by the tsunami. Present-day Akashi citizens may believe a huge tsunami will never come their way because it won’t get past Awaji Island and the Akashi Strait. But tsunamis may well reach not only the coastal area of Osaka Bay, but also the Harima-nada coastal area. I am also worried that we may see unprecedented damage if a tsunami does come, because new residential areas, which did not exist in the past, have been built on landfills and low-lying wetlands in the coastal areas.

So, even in your area, if you look closely, you will probably find records of past disasters. There should be many memorial stones or ancient documents that can tell us when an earthquake, storm, or flood hit the area, such as inscriptions saying, “The water came up to here.” I hope people will discover their local history, perhaps starting with memorial stones that are easier to find, and realize that their area may have been impacted by a disaster in the past and that their homes and daily lives exist today because our ancestors overcame devastating circumstances. If communities dig up past records and also apply that knowledge to their evacuation drills, I am sure it will enhance the significance of the exercises.

If you compare a person’s lifetime with the period until another major disaster strikes again, the latter is overwhelmingly longer. If you are under the impression that your region experiences fewer natural disasters, that just might be a delusion. To protect human lives and communities, I wish to continue passing on the local records of disasters to the next generation as a “culture of disaster preparedness.” I hope many people will bring their local culture of disaster preparedness up to date based on scientific evidence so that they can be ready for the next disaster.

Resume

Graduated from Kobe University Faculty of Letters, Department of History, in 1994. Completed the doctoral program at Kobe University Graduate School of Intercultural Studies in 2004. Became a research associate at Kobe University Faculty of Letters, before becoming a project lecturer at Kobe University Graduate School of Humanities in 2009, and a project associate professor at Kobe University Office for Promoting Regional Partnership in 2017.