Japan had a similar circumstance about 1100 years ago.

Yesterday, the 17th of January, marked the 17th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake/  阪神大震災 (which hit the Kobe area in 1995. Please click here and see the video). Since it wasn't predicted that the area would be hit by such a strong earthquake, people felt like they were caught off guard. At the same time, they realized that massive earthquakes could happen anywhere in Japan. Although the earthquake-stricken areas were relatively limited, since they were populated and the earthquake was an inland one, the damage was huge. The death toll rose to about 6500.The survivors were at a loss as to what to do. Some, including my friends, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder for a few years. Some became alcoholics due to their great difficulties. Some took quite some time to stand on their own feet. Last May, the Kobe local government finally accomplished urban town projects related to the earthquake.

Since another massive earthquake happened on the 11th of March, last year, many people who experienced the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 have been helping the victims of the 3/11 earthquake. On the other hand, some of them honestly say that they don't want to see the tsunami-stricken areas because the devastated areas remind them of their hard times and it is still too much to bear for them.

Anyway, it's been said that a massive earthquake similar to the 3/11 one could hit Japan only once in a thousand years. When I first heard that, I wondered what the premise of once in a thousand years was. After a while, I learned that an earthquake similar in size and location to the 3/11 one happened 1100 years ago. At the time, a massive tsunami also hit the Tohoku area which was severely damaged by the 3/11 tsunami. The earthquake and tsunami are referred to as the Jougan Earthquake and Tsunami/貞観地震・津波. Jougan/貞観 is an era name (859-874).

According to an article in Nikkei, a major Japanese newspaper, now looking back to that time, there are many similarities between that era and recent years. In that era, eruption and big earthquakes frequently happened. When Michizane Sugawara/菅原道真, a historical figure, took the examination for high-level officials in 870, the question "describe earthquakes" was on the examination. It's been said that this fact shows how frequently earthquakes happened in that era. On top of that, politics was in disarray. Power struggles complicated the political climate. Shinto appeared or became popular (I'm not sure which one. Buddhism was already popular). According to a historian, the frequent eruption and earthquakes made people rediscover forces of nature, and it resulted in the appearance or popularity of Shinto. The Gion festival in Kyoto, one of the three largest festivals in Japan, started in that era in order to remove disasters and drive away evil spirits (Please see the video).

Admittedly, the circumstances for the past few decades in Japan are similar to ones during that era.

My previous blog articles related to the Great Hanshin Earthquake
I found out about that disaster while I was in Sydney
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-found-out-about-that-disaster-while-i.html
The disaster revealed people's true nature??
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2010/01/disaster-revealed-peoples-true-nature.html