44,000 souls sought safety in a park. A 300-foot ‘dragon’ ate them alive.
On September 1, 1923, just before noon, a massive earthquake shook Tokyo, Japan. It was lunchtime, and countless small charcoal grills and stoves used for cooking were overturned.
In a city built largely of wood and paper, thousands of small fires quickly merged into an unstoppable firestorm.
Fleeing the collapsing buildings and flames, tens of thousands of people gathered in an open space, the former Army Clothing Depot. They believed the clearing would protect them from the fires.
They were tragically mistaken. Around 4:00 PM, the intense heat and swirling winds created something horrifying: a massive fire tornado.
Contemporaries called it a *tatsumaki*, or 'dragon twist'. This fiery vortex, estimated to be 300 feet tall, swept through the clearing.
In a matter of minutes, nearly all of the 44,000 people who had sought refuge there were gone, lost in one of the deadliest single events in modern history.
The Great Kantō Earthquake and the resulting fires would ultimately claim over 140,000 lives, reshaping Tokyo forever.
Sources: Imperial Earthquake Investigation Committee Report, The Japan Times archives
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