Preface: Kozak Collection of Historical Earthquake Images

It is a pleasure to write a preface for this unique collection of historical illustrations of earthquake damage. Dr. Kozak is to be congratulated for his extended effort to collect such a valuable archive. The collection should prove useful not only to professionals interested in historical earthquakes, but also to scholars who have a taste for eclectic art.

My interest was drawn to the art history associated with earthquakes when over twenty years ago, I saw an exhibition of Japanese prints (namazu-e) at the California Institute of Technology. As a professional seismologist, the prints were obviously relevant as a scientific record of earthquake occurrence and hazard. But beyond that, they generated a deeper feeling of delight, in the artistic merit and complex cultural themes they portray. I was later able to accumulate a small private collection of namazu-e and other earthquake prints, in the course of which I came into contact with people of similar interests. During a visit to Czechoslovakia, Dr. Kozak showed me the beginnings of his work.

A few of the beautiful, woodblock prints or namazu-e, are in this collection. They throw a light on the beliefs of the Japanese people in the years immediately after the damaging Edo earthquake of 1855. There were several print designers in the mid-19th century in Japan, and it is probably that most namazu-e were produced by students from the school of the Utagawa family (Kuniyoshi Utagawa, 1789-1851). Contemporary reports indicate that a great number of prints, pamphlets and books relating to the Edo earthquake catastrophe circulated within a few years and they were eagerly bought from bookstores throughout the streets of the city. They reflect Japanese folklore that a huge catfish produced earthquakes by thrashing its body. It was usually restrained by a god of the local Shinto shrine using a pivot stone (Kaname-ishi). Sometimes the attention of the daimyojin would wander and the namazu would move, producing damaging ground shaking. In some woodblock prints, there are a number of catfish, each representing a significant historical earthquake of the period.

The message of these historical prints and illustrations from many countries raises critical questions related to human reactions to earthquakes and other natural disasters. We see in the complexity and exaggeration of these illustrations glimmers from the recesses of the human mind when under the influence of sudden and uncontrollable natural forces. Scientific and logical thought at such times gives way to more primitive reactions and explanations that were connected in earlier times with religious beliefs and folklore. As the user will discover, the historical earthquake images in the Kozak collection can be utilized and enjoyed in many ways.

Bruce A. Bolt
Professor of Seismology, Emeritus
University of California, Berkeley

March 1998