The Great Fire of Meireki

The great fire of Edo took place on both January 18th and 19th, 1657 (Meireki 3). It is also called the Furisode Fire or the Maruyama Fire. The fire started at Honmyoji Temple in Maruyama-cho, Hongo, just after 2:30pm on the 18th, and due to strong winds at the time, it spread from Hongo, Yushima, Surugadai, Kandabashi, Ichikokubashi, Hatchobori, Reiganjima, and Tsukudajima to Fukagawa and Ushijima-shinden by the following day, the 19th. Meanwhile, the fire spread from Surugadai to Kitayanagiwara, Kyobashi, Denma-cho, and Asakusa-mon. The winds continued on the 19th, and the fire started at Shintakajo-cho in Koishikawa, and spread from Koishikawa and Kitakanda to the Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru of Edo Castle. Furthermore, that same night, a fire broke out in Kojimachi 5-chome, spreading to the Sakurada area, Nishinomarushita, Kyobashi, Shinbashi, Teppozu, and Shiba. The fire originated in these three locations. The fire spread to the entire city of Edo, and the number of people burned to death exceeded 100,000. Many of the victims froze to death due to the cold weather and the severe snowstorm on the 21st, so the shogunate provided relief by setting up relief huts and distributing porridge. This blaze prompted the urban planning of Edo to move forward in many areas, including the exchange of residential land between daimyo and hatamoto, the relocation of temples and shrines, the construction of firebreaks, and the construction of Hirokoji streets.

The name "Furisode Fire" comes from the story of a 16-year-old girl who fell in love with a young man and died of an illness as a result of the encounter, and was buried at her family temple, Honmyoji. Two girls who wore the same old purple crepe furisode that the girl had worn were both 16 years old, and moreover, they died one after the other of illness on the same day, three years in a row. On the anniversary of the girl's death, the three families gathered together, shocked by the strange fate, and burned the furisode in question. The fire continued to fly up and spread to the main hall of Honmyoji Temple, eventually burning down all of Edo. However, this is hard to say is historically accurate.

[Minami Kazuo]

"The Great Fire of Meireki" by Takashi Kuroki (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1657年（明暦3）1月18、19日の両日にわたる江戸の大火。振袖(ふりそで)火事、丸山火事ともいう。18日の午後2時半すぎ、本郷丸山町の本妙寺から出火、おりからの大風のため翌19日にかけて本郷、湯島、駿河台(するがだい)、神田橋、一石(いちこく)橋、八丁堀、霊岸嶋(れいがんじま)、佃島(つくだじま)から深川、牛島新田に延焼した。一方、駿河台から北柳原、京橋、伝馬(でんま)町、浅草門にも火が及んだ。19日も風はやまず、小石川新鷹匠(しんたかじょう)町から出火、小石川、北神田から江戸城本丸、二の丸、三の丸を延焼した。さらに同日夜麹町(こうじまち)五丁目より出火、桜田一帯、西の丸下、京橋、新橋、鉄砲洲(てっぽうず)、芝に及んだ。火元は以上三か所である。類焼地域は江戸全市に及び焼死者は10万人を超えた。寒気と21日の大吹雪のため罹災(りさい)者の凍死する者が多く、幕府は救(すくい)小屋を設けたり粥(かゆ)の施行(せぎょう)をして救済にあたった。この大火を機に江戸の都市計画が進められ、大名、旗本宅地の引き替え、寺社の移転、火除地(ひよけち)、広小路の新設など多方面に及んだ。

　振袖火事の名称の由来は、ある若衆を見そめた16歳の娘が、それがもとで病死したので菩提寺(ぼだいじ)の本妙寺に葬った。その娘が着ていた紫縮緬(ちりめん)の振袖の古着を着た2人の娘はいずれも16歳で、しかも3年続けて同じ月日に次々と病死した。命日に集まった三家が不思議な因縁に驚き、問題の振袖を焼き捨てたところ、火がついたまま舞い上がって本妙寺本堂に燃え移り、ついに江戸中を焼き払ったためと伝えられている。しかし史実とはいいがたい。

［南　和男］

『黒木喬著『明暦の大火』（講談社現代新書）』

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