September 1, two weeks from now, is Disaster Preparedness Day in Japan. One hundred years ago, on September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck, claiming more than 100,000 lives. At the National Archives of Japan near the Palaceside Building, the special exhibition "The Taisho Era: Japan 100 Years Ago as Traced Through Official Documents" now under way displays materials related to the earthquake, including a map of the Tokyo reconstruction plan.
The cabinet of Gonbee Yamamoto, formed the day after the disaster, established the Imperial Capital Reconstruction Board as an agency under the direct control of the prime minister and appointed Shinpei Goto, a former mayor of Tokyo, as its president to draw up a reconstruction plan. The exhibited document "Outline of the Imperial Capital Reconstruction Plan" (approved by the cabinet on November 22, 1923) set out a program worth more than 500 million yen, covering the development of streets, harbors and canals, the placement of parks and markets, and land readjustment. Although deliberations by the Imperial Capital Reconstruction Council and the Imperial Diet meant only some of the projects were realized, the plan introduced modern urban planning methods for the first time and built social infrastructure that still connects to today's Tokyo.
The special exhibition, which also features many other precious documents, runs through September 18. It is open every day during the period, and admission is free.