Folklore and Earthquakes: Native American Oral Traditions from Cascadia Compared with Written Traditions from Japan

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Folklore and earthquakes: Native American oral traditions from Cascadia compared with written traditions from Japan

Article in Geological Society London Special Publications · January 2007 DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.273.01.07

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Folklore and earthquakes: Native American oral traditions from Cascadia compared with written traditions from Japan

RUTH S. LUDWIN 1 & GREGORY J. SMITS 2 IDepartment of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195-1310, USA (e-mail: [email protected]) 2Department of Histoo' and Program in Religious Studies, 108 Weaver Building, The Pennsylvania State UniversiO', Universio' Park, PA 16802, USA With Contributions from D. CARVER 3, K. JAMES 4, C. JONIENTZ-TRISLER 5, A. D. MCMILLAN 6, R. LOSEY 7, R. DENNIS 8, J. RASMUSSEN 9, A. DE LOS ANGELES 1~ D. BUERGE 1l, C. P. THRUSH 12, J. CLAGUE 13, J. BOWECHOP 14, J. WRAY 15 3Carver Geologic', P.O. Box 52, Kodiak, AK 99615, USA 413797 Silven Ave NE Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA 5FEMA, Federal Regional Center, 130 228th St, SW Bothell, WA 98021-9796, USA 6Dept of Anthropology, Douglas College, New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2, Canada 7Department of Anthropology, Room 13-15, Too" Building Universi~.' of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4, Canada 8Chief Councilor Huu-ay-aht First Nation, P.O. Box 418, Port Alberni, B.C., V91 1M7, Canada 9Duwamish Tribe cultural resources expert, Duwanish Tribal Services, 4717 West Marginal Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106, USA l~ Tribe, cultural resources expert, and great-grandson of James Zackuse, Duwamish Indian Doctor, The Snoquahnie Tribe, P.O. Box 280, Carnation, WA 98014, USA ~J310 NE 85th St, Seattle, WA 98115, USA lZRm 1297, 1873 East Mall, UniversiO" of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1, Canada 13Simon Fraser University, Burvlaby, B.C., Canada 14Makah Cultural and Research Centre, Makah Tribe, P.O. Box 160 Neah Bay, WA 98357, USA 15Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA, USA

Abstract: This article examines local myth and folklore related to earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in oral traditions from Cascadia (part of the northern Pacific coast of North America) and in written traditions from Japan. particularly in the Edo (present-day Tokyo) region. Local folklore corresponds closely to geological evidence and geological events in at least some cases, and the symbolic language of myth and folklore can be a useful supplement to conventional geological evidence for constructing an accurate historical record of geological activity. At a deep. archetypical level, Japan, Cascadia. and many of the world's cultures appear to share similar themes in their con- ception of earthquakes. Although folklore from Cascadia is fragmentary, and the written record short, the evolution of Japanese earthquake folklore has been well documented over a long period of history and illustrates the interaction of folklore with dynamic social conditions.

Local cultures in regions of significant seismic earthquakes and their consequences. The study of activity around the world are rich in myths, local earthquake-related lore can shed useful light legends, and other symbolic representations of on local cultural traditions and values, human

From: PICCARD1, L. & MASSE, W. B. (eds) Myth and Geology. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 273. 67-94. 0305-8719/07/$15.00 !' The Geological Society of London 2007. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

68 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS psychology vis-h-vis the violent forces of nature, and other aspects of society and culture. This lore can also shed useful light on the geological record, sometimes even to the extent of suggesting major geological events that remain undiscovered by conventional scientific approaches. Common themes appear in stories from different cultures, and may help identify stories with geological information. In this paper, we examine two types of earthquake lore from Cascadia and Japan. First, we discuss figurative stories from the Pacific Northwest coast of North America that appear to refer to earthquakes, tsunamis, permanent land level changes, or landslides. Geographically these stories describe events along two major fault zones: the Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ), which produced a magnitude 9+ earthquake in 1700 (Satake et al. 2003), and the Seattle fault in Puget Sound which produced an earthquake of estimated magnitude 7.4 in approximately 900 AD (Bucknam et al. 1992). Sec- ondly, we discuss non-geological evidence from Cascadia and Japan that researchers have used to date the CSZ earthquake of 1700. Next, we examine figurative conceptions of earthquake causality in Japanese folk culture, both circa 1700 and, in greater detail, during the period following the Edo (present-day Tokyo) earthquake of 1855. This earthquake produced an outpouring of figurative namazu-e (catfish picture prints), which expressed a wide range of popular views on earthquake-related phenomena, both geological and social. Data from both Cascadia and Japan support our general argument that symbolic language can usefully describe geological events In addition to demonstrating a linkage between local earthquake lore and geological events in these two parts of the world, we propose some observations Fig. 1. Estimated 1700 rupture of the Cascadia about similarities in this lore, with reference to other Subduction zone, from Wang et al. (2003). Numbers regions of the world. At a deep level, which we call indicate locales of Native stories with descriptions of the 'archetypical level', many apparently uncon- shaking and/or flooding. Story elements are tabulated in nected societies throughout the premodern world Figure 9. Story references: 1. Boas 1935, la 33: lb 92; conceived of earthquakes in similar ways. lc 122: ld 27-31: 2. Teit 1912, 273-274: 3. Jenness 1955. 11.12,72.91,92: 4. Duff 1955, 9, 123-126: 5. Roberts & Swadesh 1955, 315: 6. Sproat 1987, 124- 125: 7. Arima et al. 1991,230-231: 8. Hill-Tout 1978, Stories of earthquakes and related events 157-158: 9. McCurdy 1961. 109-112. 10. Swan 1870, 57: 11. Gunther t925, 119: 12. Clark 1953.44-45: 13. from native societies in the Cascadia Eels 1878: 14. Reagan and Walters 1933, 14a 320-321, subduction zone 14b 322: 15. Reagan 1934, 15a 33-34, 36-37: 16. Jefferson 2001, 69-70: 17. Elmendorf 1961, 133-139; Geological knowledge of the Cascadia 18. Van Winkle Palmer 1925, 99-102: 19. Clark 1955, 321: 20. Boas 1894. 144-148: 21. Kuykendall 1889, 67; subduction zone 22. 22a Boas 1898:23-27 (similar story identified as historical in the following reference), 22b 30-34, 22c The plate-boundary fault at the Cascadia subduction 140: 23. Jacobs 1959, 176: 24. Jacobs 2003, 187; 25. zone (CSZ) separates the oceanic Juan de Fuca plate Frachtenberg 1920.67-91: 26. Frachtenberg 1913, 14- from the continental North America plate (Fig 1). It 19: 27. Jacobs 1939.58: 28. Ward 1986.27; 29. Dubois lies about 80km offshore and extends roughly 1932. 261: 30. Spott & Kroeber 1942, 224-227: 31. parallel to the coast from the middle of Vancouver Kroeber 1976. 31a 174-177: 31b 460-465: 32. Island to northern California. Although recognized Warburton and Endert 1966, 58-60. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 69 as early as the mid-1960s, seismologists initially oral traditions as high as 95% (Jacobs 1962). There- assumed that the CSZ was incapable of producing fore, available records may not be a representative great (megathrust) earthquakes. It is seismically sampling of the original material. Nevertheless, quiet, and no sizable earthquake has occurred on the hundreds of extant sources include numerous it since European settlement began. As the theory stories that describe shaking or marine flooding, of plate tectonics matured, studies of subduction Throughout the Cascadia coast, figurative stories zones worldwide identified characteristics associ- with no direct mention of earthquakes nevertheless ated with megathrust earthquakes. These earth- describe earth shaking and tsunami effects. At the quakes are most common in areas where hot, southern end of the region, many stories explicitly young, buoyant crust is rapidly subducted (Heaton mention both earthquakes and tsunamis. At the & Kanamori 1984). Although the rate of subduction northern end, there are explicit earthquake stories in Cascadia is relatively slow, the subducted crust is and explicit flood stories, but only a few stories among the youngest and hottest anywhere. including both phenomena. In the middle portion Field investigations in the 1980s of the coastal of the CSZ, along the coast of Oregon and margins along the CSZ located geological evidence Washington, direct mention of earthquakes is rare of abrupt land-level changes characteristic of mega- and stories of marine floods are common. The thrust earthquakes in 'ghost forests" of dead cedar differences in the content of these stories may in trees in coastal estuaries in Washington and part be the result of different methods or priorities Oregon (e.g. Nelson et al. 1995). The cedars, origin their collection and preservation. In any case, inally above the limit of the tides, were killed when differences in Native cultures and lifestyles along their roots were suddenly plunged into salt water. the Cascadia coast or variations in earthquake Beneath the surface of these same estuaries, soil effects are also a likely factor in the variable cores reveal layered deposits showing a repeated content of these stories. cycle of slow uplift and rapid submergence. Pre- Native oral traditions are sometimes structured as liminary age estimates based on radiocarbon stories about the acts and personalities of superna- dating (Nelson et al. 1995) and tree-ring studies tural beings, often in the guise of animals. Through- suggested that the most recent earthquake happened out Cascadia, stories were part of broader cultural about 300 years ago. A precise date, 26 January, contexts that also conveyed information through 1700, was determined from Japanese historical artifacts, dances, songs, and ceremonies, and per- documents (Satake et al. 2003), and confirmed by sonal and place names. Shaking imagery appears a close study of tree-ring patterns of ghost cedar in stories about a variety of supernatural beings roots (Yamaguchi et al. 1997). The magnitude esti- (McMillan & Hutchinson 2002), not surprising in mate of 9.0, derived from the amplitude of the an area with multiple cultures and multiple earth- tsunami that reached Japan, implies rupture along quake sources. Some stories are local, whereas the entire length of the CSZ (Satake et al. 2003). others appear over a wider geographic range. Figure 1 shows the geographic extent of the likely Some stories have generic descriptions of shaking rupture area. that could occur in any earthquake whereas others appear to describe specific effects, such as tsunamis or permanent ground level change along the coast, Native folklore from the Cascadia that might suggest a great subduction zone earth- subduction zone quake. We sought stories with widespread distribution along the Cascadia coast and imagery or This section examines Native stories from along the descriptions of the effects that might be expected Cascadia margin that are figurative and folkloric in from a subduction zone earthquake. style, and not amenable to dating with any pre- The struggle between the Thunderbird and Whale cision. Some of these stories appear to be of fairly is a story told by many groups from western Van- recent origin and possibly linked to the 1700 earth- couver Island and northern Washington. One quake; others are apparently much older. version, story 15b (see Fig. 1), includes a side Native peoples have lived on the Cascadia coast comment that explicitly links earthquake and for thousands of years, transferring knowledge tsunami-like effects to the struggle and suggests from generation to generation through storytelling. an historical context: These Native groups spoke more than a dozen dis- My father (fatherof the medicineman who related this story to the tinct languages (Thompson & Kinkade 1990), and writer) also told me that followingthe killing of this destroyer... lived in a complex social landscape with both simi- there was a great storm and hail and flashes of lightning in the larities and differences between groups. Collection darkened, blackened sky and a great and crashing "thunder- and recording of Native stories began in the noise' everywhere. He further stated that there were also a 1860s, almost 100 years after initial European shaking, jumping up and trembling of the earth beneath, and a contact in Cascadia, resulting in losses of Native rolling up of the great waters. (Reagan 1934). Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

70 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS

Thunderbird and Whale are beings of superna- the double-headed eagle and the water-monster, is tural size and power. A story from Vancouver about the creation of Agate Pass, a Puget Sound Island says that Thunderbird causes thunder by waterway far from the outer coast, but adjacent to moving even a feather, and that he carries a large the Seattle Fault, where a magnitude 7.4 earthquake lake on his back from which water pours during caused a Puget Sound tsunami (Moore & Mohrig thunderstorms (Carmichael 1922). The same story 1994) about 1100 years ago (Bucknam et al. 1992). says that all creation rests on the back of a Although none of the Thunderbird/Whale stories mammoth whale and tells of an occasion when are dateable, a few have vaguely historical time- Thunderbird drove his talons deep into the quivering frames. In addition to describing earthquake flesh of Whale's back, and Whale dived and dragged effects, Thunderbird and/or Whale stories have a the struggling Thunderbird to the bottom of the general association with landscape-forming ocean; imagery suggestive of ground shaking and events, such as glacial moraines (Fig. 1, story ocean surges. In this story, three of the four original 15b), icefalls (Reagan & Waiters 1933), and land- thunderbirds were drowned in this manner, and one slides (Barbeau & Melvin 1943). Thunderbird also remains alive. Other stories also have multiple appears in stories about thunder, lightning, and whales or thunderbirds (Fig. 1, stories l d, 15b, rain. Thunderbird and Whale stories are part of a 22b; Reagan 1934, p. 25; Spott & Kroeber 1942, systematic oral tradition that used symbolism and p. 227-232) that may refer to aftershocks. mnemonic keys to condense and present infor- Stories 5, 9, 14a and b, and 15a (see Fig. 1) further mation in a format that could be remembered and tie the story of a supernatural battle to the flood, with retold for generations. Native populations wit- imagery that implies shaking--Thunderbird lifts the nessed multiple cycles of CSZ earthquakes; geo- massive Whale into the air and drops it on the land logical evidence indicates at least seven in the last surface. The flood description in story 15a is strik- 3500 years (Atwater & HemphilI-Haley 1997). ingly similar to story 10, which hints at a historic Artifacts depicting Thunderbird and Whale that framwork by placing the event 'A long time ago long predate the 1700 earthquake have been recov- ... but not at a very remote period'. ered from coastal archeological sites (McMillan The struggle between Thunderbird and Whale is 2000). Knowledge of a repeating earthquake cycle unique to the Cascadia coast, and appears in stories may be implied in a story where the Thunderbird from Vancouver Island to northern Oregon. From becomes a man and sends his Thunderbird central Oregon south, Thunder or Whale figures costume back to the sky saying: 'You will not appear individually in stories describing earthquake keep on thundering, only sometimes you will or tsunami themes. The central figures variously sound when my later generations will go (die). appear in the form of Thunder, Thunderbird or You will speak once at a time when those who bird, and Whale, fish, or sea monster. In northern will change places with me will go (die)' (Boas California, the Yurok tribe has an 'Earthquake" 1935, p. 65). figure with 'Thunder' as his companion. Stories The Thunderbird/Whale motif is the central from Puget Sound and eastern Washington also use theme in carved and painted art of the outer coast similar motifs in conjunction with descriptions of and coastal fjords of Vancouver Island (Malin earthquake effects. Story 16, of the battle between 1999) (Figs 2 & 3), where broad ocean openings

Fig. 2. Two interior ceremonial screens from Port Alberni, dating from the late nineteenth century. The screens depict the Thunderbird, accompanied by the lighting serpent and wolf, carrying the Whale in its talons. Collection of American Museum of Natural History: 16.1/1892 AB. The screens are said to commemorate a "chief's encounter with the supernatural while checking his sockeye traps at Sproat Falls' ~Kirk 1986). Sproat Falls is just above the modelled extent of the 1700 tsunami (Clague et al. 2000). Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 71

Fig. 3. Nootka Sound Memorial, erected 1902- t903 to honour Chief Maquinna, who died in 1902. Thunderbird and Whale are shown as similar in size to Conuma Peak. Photo PN11478-A, taken by C.H. French and Fig. 4. Alert Bay; a Thunderbird and Whale painted on reproduced with the permission of the Royal British the front of the house of Kwakwaka' wakw Chief Tlah go Columbia Museum. glas (Malin 1999). Photo taken by Richard Maynard, 1873, print available from Vancouver Museum, 23. funnel water into narrow waterways that run far inland. Port Alberni, at the landward terminus of long indicated a substantial offset in basement Barkley Sound, 40 km from the ocean, experienced rocks beneath Puget Sound (Danes et al. 1965), tsunami run-up about six times larger than sites on no clear pattern of recent earthquake activity defin- the open coast following the 1964 Alaska earth- ing the fault has been observed. However, geologi- quake (Sokolowski Alaska Tsunami Warning cal evidence of an earthquake around AD 900 Centre). Clague et al. (2000) have documented (estimated magnitude 7.4) came to light in the tsunami deposits from both the 1964 and 1700 early 1990s (Bucknam et al. 1992) and the Seattle earthquakes in Port Alberni and other fjord-like fault is now recognized as a substantial hazard to inlets on Vancouver Island. Alert Bay, between the Seattle urban area. the northern end of Vancouver Island and the main- The circa AD 900 earthquake caused 7 m of ver- land, also has prominent Thunderbird and Whale tical uplift on the southern side, sent massive block artworks (Fig. 4) and story themes linking Thunder- landslides tumbling into Lake Washington, and bird and flooding (Fig. 1, story l a), and placing created a tsunami in Puget Sound that left sand flooding at the time of the winter ceremonial deposits on Southern Whidbey Island (Atwater & (Fig. 1, story l b). Moore 1992). Native stories, art, ceremonies, and naming pre- Two archaeological sites near Seattle attest to the serve memories of Cascadia subduction zone earth- effects of such events on local indigenous commu- quakes. Ancient, recurring imagery describes nities. Excavations at West Point, a promontory earthquake and tsunami effects and suggests aware- jutting out into Puget Sound north of downtown ness of repetitive cycles of world-altering events. that was used as a fish- and shellfish-processing Likewise, similarities in symbols and imagery site since at least 4000 years before the present, along the length of Cascadia suggest commonly show that the area dropped at least a metre during experienced events. We now take a closer look at the quake, The point's marshes were flooded with earthquake-related lore from the Puget Sound area. saltwater and a layer of sand covered the entire site. Over time, people returned to West Point and began using it as they had before the quake A'yahos, the AD 900 Seattle earthquake and (Larson & Lewarch 1995). The earthquake also per- earthquake lore from the Puget Sound area manently transformed some areas. At the Duwam- along the Seattle fault ish No. 1 archaeological site, excavations show that the quake lifted up a low, wet area that had The Seattle fault is a multi-stranded east-west only been a minor camping and food-processing striking reverse fault cutting across Puget Sound, site and turned it into a higher, drier spot that even- through downtown Seattle, and across Lake tually became home to a major permanent settle- Washington. Although geophysical evidence has ment with several longhouses (Campbell 1981; Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

72 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS

Blukis Onat 1987). Natives passed down knowl- spot where a'yahos came to a person the very edge of these events in their oral tradition using earth was torn, landslides occurred and the trees descriptive metaphors based on their cultural con- became twisted and warped. Such spots were recog- cepts, often ascribing earth shaking to actions of nizable for years afterward.' (Smith 1940) supernatural beings. Stories about a"yahos mention a number of In 1985, prior to published evidence of the AD specific places in the central Puget Sound, along 900 earthquake on the Seattle fault, an article in the Hood Canal, and on the Strait of Juan de Fuca the Seattle Weekly (Buerge 1985) mentioned a as far west as the Elwha River. A total of 13 Native American 'spirit boulder' associated with a'yahos sites are mentioned in various stories earthquakes and landslides located near the Fauntle- (Fig. 5a, b), and these locales coincide with roy ferry dock in west Seattle. The proximity of this shallow faults around Puget Sound, including the location to the Seattle fault invited investigation and Little River fault along the strait of Juan de Fuca, we discovered that the Fauntleroy Spirit boulder is the Tacoma fault, and the Price Lake scarps associated with a supernatural being called (Haugerud et al. 2003). Five of the a'yahos story a'yahos. Native stories often describe a'yahos in a sites are located very close to the trace of the way that could refer to earthquake effects, Seattle Fault (Fig. 5b). Four of the Seattle locales especially landslides. A'yahos is a shape-shifter, can be associated with landslides or reports of often appearing as an enormous serpent, sometimes land-level changes that might have been caused double headed with blazing eyes and horns, or as a by the AD 900 Seattle earthquake. Additional Native composite monster having the fore-quarters and stories related to shaking, landsliding, or land-level head of a deer and the tail of a snake (Mohling change are associated with three of these sites. 1957). A'yahos is a 'Doctor' spirit power: reserved for shamans. It is one of the most powerful personal A 'yahos stories along the Seattle fault spirit powers; malevolent and dangerous to encounter. A'yahos is associated with shaking and rushes The west Seattle a'yahos spirit boulder mentioned of turbid water and comes simultaneously from by Buerge (1985) is located on the beach immedi- land and sea (Smith unpublished notes). 'At the ately south of Fauntleroy Ferry Dock (Fig. 5b:l),

Fig. 5. (a) Map of Puget Sound and eastern Olympic Peninsula. Boxed area indicates location of larger-scale map shown in Figure 5b. Dashed lines show locations of some shallow faults ~after Haugerud et al. 2003): LR F, Little River fault; T F, Tacoma Fault; DDM FZ Darrington Devil's Mtn fault zone: PL S, Price Lake Scarps: FC S Frigid Creek Scarps. Numbers in Figure 5a indicate sites outside the Seattle fault area associated with a'yahous stories. 1, Elwha River: 2, Dungeness River; 3, Dabob Bay: 4, Bald Point also known as Ayers Point: 5. Tahuya River: 6, Medicine Creek (NisquaUy Delta); 7, American Lake; 8, Black Diamond Lake (1-5 from Elmendorf. 1993:6 and 8 from Waterman 2001:7 from Smith, 1940). (b) Larger-scale map showing the Seattle fault zone. a'yahos story localities (indicated by black circles), other stories that have apparent connection to earth shaking or landsliding (indicated by grey circles), and archaeological sites (white circles). I, Fauntleroy; 2, Alki Point: 3. Lake Washington a'yahos site: 4, South Point, Mercer Island: 5, Madison Park; 6, Three Tree Point: 7, Agate Passage: 8, Bremerton: 9. Moore Point: 10. Portage Bay: 11. West Point: 12, Duwamish Site No. 1. LIDAR images of Fauntleroy ( 1) and Three Tree Point (6) are shown in Figure 6. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 73 below what appears to be a very large landslide of of the a'yahos site. In addition to the massive undetermined age clearly visible in LIDAR slides of AD 900 that bracket this site, a close-by images (Fig. 6a) but not shown on existing geologi- landslide during the 1890s is said to have cal maps. Long term local residents Mory Skaret damaged buildings (McDonald 1956). It is possible and Judy Pickens pointed out the boulder; Water- that the 1890s landslide entered into the identifi- man (2001) indicated a location further south, cation of this site with a'yahos. Landslides occur near Brace Point. Stories of a'yahos spirit power in many locations along the bluffs and steep are told about both the Fauntleroy boulder (Water- slopes that line portions of the shores of Lake man 2001) and Alki Point (Smith unpublished Washington and Puget Sound. notes), immediately to the north and uplifted The large blocks of land that slid into Lake during the AD 900 quake. Stories about Alki Point Washington from Mercer Island's South Point in speak of shaking, rocks exploding, and the power AD 900 submerged intact with upright trees. As coming from sea and land simultaneously (Smith the lake rose and fell several feet during the unpublished notes). course of the year owing to seasonal run-off in the The second place in Seattle associated with lake basin, the trunks of these drowned trees were a'yahos is by the shore of Lake Washington (Fig. exposed. Native people avoided this place, which 5b: 3). According to elders who worked with T.T. they called 'stripping someone's clothes off'. A Waterman, 'On the lake shore opposite the north man who came to strip the bark off the drowned end of Mercer Island ... an enormous supernatural trees protruding above the lake surface reportedly monster.., lived' (Waterman 2001, p. 102). Large became crazy, because stripping the bark from the block landslides dated to AD 900 slid into Lake submerged trees was thought to be like stripping Washington from the southern end of Mercer the clothes off the supernatural 'earth beings' who Island and at Madison Park (Karlin & Abella lived in the stumps of the drowned trees (Waterman 1992), about 2 km south and north, respectively, 2001, pp. 108-110). A third locality in greater Seattle is on the shore of Puget Sound, near Three Tree Point in Burien (Fig. 5b: 6), at a bluff where 'a great snake lived inside, shoving the sand down when people dis- turbed him' (Waterman 2001). James Rasmussen, of the Duwamish Tribe, identifies this snake as a'yahos. As at Fauntleroy, the locale at Three Tree Point features what appears to be a large, undated, and previously unmapped landslide, which is visible in LIDAR (Fig. 6b). The fourth story comes from the Suquamish Tribe on the western side of Puget Sound (Fig. 5b: 7; Fig. 1:16). Oral traditions handed down by elders tell of the creation of Agate Passage (the waterway between the northern end of Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula; located on the down-thrown side of the Seattle fault) following an underwater battle between a water serpent (not specifically identified as a'yahos) and a mythic bird. The battle resulted in ground shaking, churning of the waters, and widening of the channel.

Long ago, when this land was new, the area we know as Agate Pass was much smaller than today .... There lived in this .,. body of water a ... Giant Serpent. The Double Headed Eagle flew over the pass and the Giant Serpent came up very angry. The two began to fight, and the earth shook and the water boiled ... the people began to scream and cry until it was as loud as thunder. Then. as if the earth was going to be swallowed by the waters, they began to boil and chum. Then, the Double Headed Eagle Fig. 6. LIDAR images (from the Puget Sound LIDAR exploded out of the water and up into the sky with the body of Consortium 2000) showing apparent landslides at the Giant Serpent in its claws. The Double Headed Eagle flew localities said to be a'yahos dwelling places; (a) Fauntleroy back into the mountain and behind him was left the wide pass Cove in West Seattle (b) Three tree point in Burien. ... i Jefferson 2001 I. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

74 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS

The description of the widened channel could lived in Seattle on Lake Union's Portage Bay reflect permanent ground level change, and the during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centu- sense of ground motion suggested by the story is ries, translates to 'trembling face'; rooted in 'dzakw', accurate; Agate Passage is on the down-thrown the Puget Lowland Native word for earthquake northern side of the Seattle fault. However, geologi- (Miller & Blukas Onat 2004, pp. 78-85). cal evidence suggests that the AD 900 earthquake Shaking also appeared as an important element in produced mainly uplift on the southern side, with Puget Sound Salish ceremony, when ritual objects the north side down only slightly; the correspon- filled with spirit power and became self-animated dence between the story and reality is approximate (Miller 1999, p. 133: Elmendorf 1993, p. 192-198; rather than exact. We note, however, that some Haeberlin & Gunther 1930, p. 79). An early white 'drift' seems reasonable in a story that may be a settler noted a specific connection between cer- thousand years old and has been preserved through emony and earthquake shaking as early as 1893: extreme cultural destruction. This story, set in an During the past thirty-three years I have on many occasions endea- undated 'long ago', is strikingly similar to the vored to gather from the oldest and most intelligent Indians some- stories from the outer coast of Cascadia that use thing of their earlier recollections: for instance, as to when the the struggle of a supernatural bird and water-beast heaviest earthquake occurred. They said that one was said to to refer to earthquakes on the Cascadia subduction have occurred a great many years before any white man had zone (Ludwin et al. 2005a). The 'long ago' time ever been seen here, when mam-ook ta-mah-na-wis was carried frame suggests an origin more ancient than 1700. on by hundreds. This is the same performance they go through A fifth place, on the Kitsap Peninsula near when they are making medicine men, and consists of shouting, singing, beating on drums and sticks and apparently trying to Bremerton (Fig. 5b: 8), is said to be another spot make as much noise as they can. tSeattle Post-Intelligencer 1893) where shamanistic spirit-power could be acquired (Waterman 2001, pp. 206-207; Smith unpublished Salish earthquake stories from outside Puget Sound notes). Sam Wilson, born in 1861, and grandson of also draw a connection between ceremony and Chief Seattle told Marian Smith, 'it comes from shaking (Fig. 1, stories 8 and 22b; Ludwin et al. land and sea at same time' (Smith unpublished 2005b). notes). No obvious geological features were noted at this site, though it is situated between several Earthquake lore from Puget Sound in the strands of the Seattle fault. On the Puget Sound context of regional earthquake motifs shore of Kitsap Peninsula just east of this locality, at Moore Point near Illahee State Park (Fig. 5b: 9), Although the a+yahos name appears to be specific to is a spot named 'to have a chill' or 'to feel a central Puget Sound, the double-headed serpent is tremor' (Waterman 2001, pp. 206-207). A com- widely known and depicted in NW cultures, and parison of earth tremors to feverish chills was may have been similarly linked to earth changes. made by Aristotle (Leet 1948) and it is possible The Quileute, a non-Salish group living on the NW that the Natives of Puget Sound drew a similar con- Washington Coast, have artifacts depicting a two- nection. Although the origin of the name 'to feel a headed horned snake with the forelegs of a deer. tremor' is uncertain, shaking was a central Although not clearly linked to a'yahos, stories element in Puget Sound Native medical practices describe it as a vicious guardian spirit (Powell & and ceremonials, and a'yahos was a potent source Jensen 1976). Another two-headed snake, the of shamanistic 'Doctor' power, as discussed below. Sisiutl, is a figure well known from stories and Native 'Doctor' or shaman power was a particu- ceremonial artifacts of northern Vancouver Island. larly strong form of spirit power. Throughout the Whales or water-monsters (which may represent region, individuals sought personal spirit powers to the subterranean world in the same way that snakes guide their lives and bring them luck and skill. do) appear in many Pacific Northwest coastal A'yahos was one of the most powerful of these per- stories that describe ground shaking and/or sonal spirit powers, though it was also malevolent, tsunami-like floods, probably related to earthquakes dangerous, and possibly fatal to encounter (Smith on the Cascadia subduction zone (Ludwin et al. 1940). A'yahos 'Doctor' spirit power was one of 2005a). Whales per se are not prominent in only two powers (a'yahos and st~duk"'a) reserved stories from the Seattle fault area, though the exclusively for shaman, and descriptions of both water-serpent of Agate Pass is analogous to a these shamanistic powers include shaking or land- whale. However, in southern Puget Sound where sliding imagery (Elmendorf 1993; Smith unpub- damaging earthquakes centred deep underground lished notes; Smith 1940; Waterman 2001). are relatively common (occurring in 1949, 1965, Shaman were believed to hold the power to cure and 2001), several stories mention whales trapped certain illnesses, and also the power to cause illness inland and thrashing their way out, sometimes and even death (Suttles & Lane 1990). The name through underground channels (Ballard 1929). of James Zackuse, a Duwamish Indian Doctor who Thunder, also common in coastal stories of Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 75

shaking and flooding, appears occasionally in shaking imagery and/or descriptions, though often stories from Puget Sound (Ludwin et al. 2005b). quite figurative (L~vi-Strauss 1979). The Sxwayx- Figure 7 shows two versions of a Salish ceremo- wey has been incorporated into the ceremonies nial dance mask and costume linked to earthquakes and oral traditions of non-Salish groups living at (Ldvi-Strauss 1979), whirlwind (American the north end of Vancouver Island (Lfivi-Strauss Museum of Natural History catalog), and thunder 1979), where mythic-style stories of its origin expli- (Jenness 1955). The Sxwayxwey (also Swai'xwe citly relate the mask to earthquakes. and many alternate spellings) masks sometimes In a northern Vancouver Island ritual (Boas include a two-headed snake (Jenness 1955). The 1897) the Sxwayxwey represents earth shaking. A mask's origin is relatively recent, probably some- mythic story (Fig. 1, story ld) tells of the time after 1500 (Ludwin et al. 2005a), and is Sxwayxwey mask obtained at night in the winter described in a number of Salish stories that use ceremonial house of Red Cod, where rumbling sounds and earth shaking are caused by fish thrashing about on the floor. Additional sources identify the Sxwayxwey as originating in recent historical time and place its geographical origin near the town of Hope (Codere 1948: Duff 1955; Carlson 2006: L~vi-Strauss 1979) on the British Columbia mainland. The Sxwayxwey is related to earthquakes over its entire geographic range (L~vi-Strauss 1979), although the shaking element is not prominent in mainland stories. Mention of the Sxwayxwey also occurs in connection with thunder and whirlwind (American Museum of Natural History Catalog: Jenness 1955; Fig. 1, story 2). One striking story from the northern end of Vancouver Island (Head-Winter-Dancer: Boas & Hunt 1905) mentions the acquisition of the Sxwayx- wey mask in combination with earthquake- and landslide-related figures and imagery from multiple northwest cultures in an epic tale about the founding of the great houses of the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) people. In Head-Winter-Dancer, Thun- derbird and his wife descend from the sky at a mountain called Split-in-Two. They become human, taking the names Head-Winter Dancer and Winter Dance Woman, and bear sons who travel around Vancouver Island gathering crests and founding great houses. When their youngest son is born, they hear a sound like rocks rolling down and find a double-headed serpent in their salmon- trap (Fig. 8). They wash the new baby in the blood of the double-headed serpent and he is transformed into Stone-Body, a name similar to Stone- Ribs--an earthquake-related being in Haida stories from British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands (Swanton 1905, pp. 190-210). Stone- Body cries out in the voice of the Dzonoqwa (a supernatural being linked to earthquakes and to the Sxwayxwey (Levi-Strauss 1979) and it is divulged that Dzonoqwa had come to Winter Dance Woman and Stone-Body is his son. Stone- Fig. 7. Salish Swai'xwe masks associated with shaking, Body grows up rapidly and travels in a self- whirlwind, thunder and the two-headed snake (Jenness propelled death-bringing, double-headed serpent 1955). The two open-mouthed protuberances above the forehead likely represent snakes. (a) Mask from canoe, acquiring crests from the communities he mainland British Columbia, collection of American visits. He obtains the earthquake-related Museum of Natural History; 16/9222A. (b) Mask from Sxwayxwey mask from the Salish to the sound of Vancouver Island, photo by Edward Curtis (2001). thunder. Stone-Body gives his older brother Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

76 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS

and other non-geological evidence can enhance conventional geological knowledge. The 1700 earthquake was initially dated through Japanese historical documents, and the date was confirmed inde- pendently through Native American oral traditions and dendrochronology. Nine Native stories from the Cascadia coast (Fig. 1, stories l c, 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 17, 27 and 28) have sufficient information for estimating a date range since an event associated with shaking and/ or flooding (two stories with both, three with shaking only, and four with flooding only). Two stories, told between 1860 and 1964, tell of a grandparent who saw a survivor of the flood, and one of a great-grandparent who survived it. Figure 9 tabu- lates the accounts, and gives date ranges. Date range minima and maxima are 1400 and 1825. All estimates span the interval between 1690 and 1715, and the average value of the midpoints of the date ranges is 1690. Discarding the earliest and latest midpoints yields an average midpoint date of 1701. This finding is remarkably consistent with the 1700 date of the most recent CSZ earthquake determined from Japanese historical documents. Fig. 8. Non-Salish Cascadia Native representations of two-headed snakes. Neither of these figures has yet been The date estimates based solely on descriptions explicitly linked to earthquakes, but they likely represent of floods could possibly be reports of tele-tsunamis the same spirit power as a'yahous. Both have horns. (i.e. those arriving from distant earthquakes). representing spirit power. (a) Quileute ceremonial Alaskan and South American earthquakes produced representation of t'abale, a vicious guardian spirit on the notable tsunamis on the Cascadia coast in the northwestern Washington coast (Powell & Jensen 1976). twentieth century (Lander et al. 1993). Although (b) Kwakwaka'wakw Sisiutl mask, from the northern end we do not know the history of Alaskan earthquakes of Vancouver Island, photo by Edward Curtis (2001 ). around 1700, tsunamis from South American earthquakes were recorded in Japan in 1730, 1751 and 1780 (Watanabe 1998). Japanese earthquakes Cannibal the additional names Rolling-Down, have not produced significant tsunamis in Cascadia Great-Mountain, Rock-Slide and Coming Down. since at least 1806 (Lander et al. 1993), but locally The two-headed Sisutl of the Kwakwaka" wakw is generated tsunamis damaged the Japanese coast in similar in form to the two-headed supernatural 1611, 1707, and 1771 (Watanabe 1998). serpent a'yahos of Puget Sound, and its blood trans- Cascadia Native stories that can be used to date forms the child of the Thunderbird/Dzonoqwa into the 1700 earthquake are mostly straightforward the earthquake-related figure Stone-Body. The descriptions of flooding and/or shaking. Of these inclusion of multiple earthquake-related mythic stories, the clearest and most complete is from the figures (Thunderbird, Dzonoqwa, Stone-Body, outer coast of Vancouver Island, recorded by Sxwayxwey, Sisiutl) in a story about the foundation Chief Louis Nookmis following the 1964 Alaskan of the great houses of the Kwakwaka'wakw earthquake. It describes a night-time earthquake suggests that earthquakes deeply affected their quickly followed by a tsunami that destroyed the culture. The use of earthquake imagery from the Pachena Bay people: adjoining Salish and Haida cultures suggests earthquake events that were felt across tribal boundaries. They had practically no way or time to try to save themselves. I think it was at nighttime that the land shook .... 1 think a big wave smashed into the beach. The Pachena Bay people were Non-geological evidence for the Cascadia lost .... But they who lived at Ma:lts'a:s, "House-Up- Against-Hill" lhe wave did not reach because they were on high subduction zone earthquake of 1700 from ground... Because of that they came out alive. They did not Cascadia and Japan drift out to sea with the others. (Fig. 1, story 7. Arima et al. 1991)

The precise dating of the Cascadia subduction zone Robert Dennis, Chief Councilor of the earthquake of 1700 is an example of how local lore Huu-ay-aht First Nation and descendent of Chief Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 77

(a) "')) ESTIMATED DATE RANGE AND BASIS FOR ESTIMATE

Year A.D. o o c~ 1650-1825 (1c) "'This is not a myth ... my tale is seven generations old . 9there was a great earthquake and all the houses of the Kwakiutl collapsed." -- La'bid in 1930 1456-1756 (:3) "'The masked dance ... originatedwith a man ...who lived about 12 generations ago." -- Unident~[ied informant in 1936 -5 C), 1670-1795 (4) "... the mask was first obtained five generations before .-, ,! her own ..." Mrs. Robert Joe, age >80in 1950 1655-1814 (6) "'The tide ... rushed up at fearful speed .... The Clayoquot who thus became a chief was the great-grandfather of Hy- I yu-penuel, the present chief of the Sheshabt ._." -- bWidentOqed it!formant m 1860 1640-1740 (7) "'These arc stories from my grandfather's father (born c. 1800), about events that took place four generations belbre his time :? .. over 200 years ago ...... the land shook ... a big wave smashed into the beach." -- Chief Louis Nookmis, age 84 in 1964 . : _.i! 1600-1775 (13) "One old man says that his grandfather saw the man ~ who was saved from the flood .., " -- Unidentified in.[bpw~ant c. 1875 i 1400-1715 (17) "'.. 9 or nine generations from my grandfather there LI~ i was a flood"-- Frank Allen, age 60 in 1940 1690-1805 (27) "My grandfather saw one of the old women (survivors) who had been left alive. She had been hung up on a tree, and the limbs of that three were too high up. So she took her pack line and tied it to a limb, and then when she wanted to go down by means of 21 that, she fell, she was just a girl when she fell from it. Her back was broken from it (she had a humpback thereafter). That is what she told 22a about the raised water." -- Annie Miner Petersen, age 73 in 1933 22b 22c ;:;~:::~ "i I _z; != 16,g7-1777 (28) "...there was a big flood shortly before the white man's 23 time .... a huge tidal wave that struck the Oregon Coast not too far 24 back in time ... the ocean rose up and huge waves swept and surged across the land. Trees were up-rooted and villages were swept away 9 Indians said they tied their canoes to the top of the trees, and some kg canoes were torn loose and swept away ... After the tidal wave, the Indians told of tree tops filled with limbs and trash and of finding strange canoes in the woods. The indians said the big flood and tidal wave tore up the land and changed the rivers. Nobody knows how many Indians died.'" -- Beverly Ward. recounting stories told to her around 1930 by Susan Ned, born in 1842

Fig. 9. (a) Tabulation of story elements for stories listed in Figure 1, effects, figurative motifs, and environmental setting. Brackets by story numbers group stories from a common geographic locale. Symbols are as in Figure 1. The 'Whale' motif is enclosed in quotes to cover a variety of sea-monsters appearing in the stories. (b) Date range estimates and quotes used to calculate date range estimates. Date range estimates used the following assumptions: a 'generation' is no fewer than 15 and no more than 40 years, events before age 5 are not remembered. the maximum lifespan is 100 years, flood survivors were 'old' when seen. and an 'old' person is at least 40.

Louis Nookmis, has discovered previously unpub- a group on the inner coast of Vancouver Island, sup- lished information that allows us to estimate a plements the datable stories: date at between 1640 and 1740. This new information comes from a comprehensive transcription In the days before the white man there was a great earthquake. It and translation of the 1964 recordings undertaken began about the middle of one night.., threw down.., houses and by the Huu-ay-aht First Nation. brought great masses of rock down from the mountains. One village was completely buried beneath a landslide 9It was a ','cry A second datable story that includes flooding and terrible experience: the people could neither stand not sit for the shaking elements is from the northern margin of the extreme motion of the earth. (Fig. 1, story 8, Hill-Tout 1978). Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington. It combines information from three independent The remaining stories that can be dated describe sources (Fig. 1, stories 11-13) to yield a tale indi- saltwater flooding events. Archaeological evidence cating winter flooding with accompanying strong indicates that some Native villages on the British shaking. A tradition that cannot be dated but Columbia, Washington, and Oregon coasts experi- vividly describes strong night-time shaking, from enced subsidence, were flooded by tsunamis, and Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

78 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS abandoned following the 1700 earthquake and tsunami (Minor & Grant 1996; Hutchinson & McMillan 1997; Losey 2002; Cole et al. 1996), supporting the possibility that flooding stories may reflect this event. As we mentioned earlier, Japanese textual data were instrumental in precisely dating the CSZ earthquake of 1700. The exact date and approximate time of this earthquake (9 pm on 26 January 1700) were determined from a variety of Japanese historical documents such as domain (han) records, merchant records, and the records of village headmen that reported the arrival of a tsunami with no reports of associated shaking (Satake et al. 2003). In addition to recording the 1700 earthquake, Japan has a rich folklore related to earthquakes and written and Fig. 10. "Earthquakes and Tsunamis Explained', graphic documentation that allows us to observe c. mid-seventeeth century. On the outer edges of the how that folklore developed and interacted with circled dragon are written the months of the year. What other aspects of Japanese culture. Earthquake appears to be a small sword is just above and touching the dragon's head. Below this sword is written imagery in Japanese folklore has distinct similarities "kaname-ishi'. (foundation stone). Inside the dragon are to Cascadia imagery, and we explore this, particu- the 'the 60 plus islands of Japan and the various foreign larly through the example of 1855 Ansei earthquake, countries'. The last line of text inside the dragon which was followed for a few months by a brief but explains that all of these places should be regarded as abundant output of 'namazu-e' (catfish picture- existing above the dragon. In other words, the dragon prints) that combined earlier earthquake folklore resides under the earth. Normally, it is pinned down and with incisive observations on both earthquake made immobile by the deity of the Kashima Shrine, who effects and current events. presses down on a boulder (the foundation stone), which presses down on the dragon's head. The deity's sword is a substitute for the boulder. Sometimes, however, the Halfway to the present and halfway around deity dozes or is otherwise distracted, and he lets up on the boulder. The dragon is thus able to wiggle around the world--The 1855 Ansei earthquake under the earth, which causes earthquakes (from Miyata in Japanese folk images & Takada 1995. p. 54).

Japanese documents used to date the 1700 earthquake focus on straightforward descriptions of areas flooded of Chinese ideas. The basic view was that a giant by the 1700 tsunami and resultant damage and do not nama=u lived in the subterranean waters below the touch upon the origin of the event. However. Japan Kashima Shrine in Hitachi Province (present-day lies in an area of especially vigorous seismic activity Ibaraki Prefecture, slightly north of Tokyo). A and it is not surprising that we can find abundant large boulder called the foundation stone earthquake-related data expressed both as written (kaname-ishi) pinned the nama=u down and kept records describing the effects of specific events and it largely immobile. The weight of the foundation in folk culture ideas about their cause. The long stone itself, however, was insufficient to suppress written history available in Japan enables us to the namac.u's movements, and the system depended track changing conceptions of earthquakes and on the Kashima deity (Kashima daimyOjin, often offers an interesting comparison to the earthquake known simply as Kashima) pressing down on the stories from the oral traditions of Ca~adia. For stone. During the tenth month of each year example dragons and other serpent-like creatures Kashima had to leave his post and travel south to associated with water were prominent in Chinese Ise to attend a meeting of the major Japanese and Japanese folk beliefs concerning earthquakes. deities. In his absence, Kashima would leave the Figure 10 shows a broadsheet entitiled 'The cause local deity Ebisu in charge of pressing down on of earthquakes and tsunamis' published c. 1650. In the foundation stone. Whether owing to negligence Japan, the serpent figure gradually gave way to that by Kashima himself or to Ebisu's inability to of a giant catfish (namazu), a belief that parallels perform the nama-u suppression tasks, earthquakes the many shaking-related whale stories found in the took place when the lack of pressure on the Pacific Northwest (Ludwin et al. 2005a). foundation stone allowed the giant nama=u to The link between earthquakes and giant catfish wiggle around under the earth. The severity of developed gradually over several centuries from shaking depended on the extent of the namazu's native Japanese folk beliefs with some influence movements. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 79

This basic understanding of the namazu-based This creature was most commonly a namazu, but cause of earthquakes was subject to many variations might also be a dragon, a turtle, a whale or even because it was enmeshed in the broader network of an oversized worm (jishin mushi). Scholars Japanese folk religion. Cornelis Ouwehand's tended to talk about earthquakes in terms of abstract detailed, structuralist study of namazu images situ- cosmic forces and ordinary people tended to invoke ates their themes within the broader matrix of folk images of giant animals wiggling around under the religion (Ouwehand 1964). One twist on the basic earth. Despite these differences, the two general motif was that Kashima often worked in close associ- modes of conceiving and explaining earthquakes ation with the thunder deity and sometimes other were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Both local deites of Edo. Namazu-e sometimes depicted approaches saw earthquakes as the result of tempor- Kashima, Ebisu, and the thunder deity as being ary aberrations in the delicate balance of power in jointly responsible for the devastation of a major and around the earth. earthquake. Also, most early nineteenth-century One namazu-e explicitly combines these two Japanese people associated earthquakes with water. approaches to understanding earthquakes (Fig. 11). The namazu, of course, was a water-dwelling crea- It depicts three members of the construction trades ture and the thunder deity manifests himself in (identified by clothing and tools) around a namazu storms. Indeed, most popular newspaper accounts dressed in human clothes. The foundation stone of earthquakes also mention the presence of thunder- floats in the air and gold coins are scattered storms associated with them (e.g. Kitahara 1999, around it, about to rain down on the three trades- pp. 32-33, 36-37). men. All seem to be enjoying their newfound Although the namazu-based explanation of earth- good fortune. The redistribution of wealth was a quakes had become widely known throughout theme in namazu-e, as carpenters, plasterers, Japan by the early nineteenth century, it was not roofers, and other specialists in the building trades the only way of describing the mechanism of earth- prospered in the wake of the earthquake. On the quakes. The Ansei kenmonroku (Accounts of the clothing of each tradesman and the namazu are Ansei [1854-1859] era) contains a typical alterna- the characters for one of the five agents of yin and tive, based on a widely known view of cosmic trans- yang: wood 7~, fire 'J~, earth --1-, and water ~ (the formation whereby the five primary agents of yin namazu). The gold coins function as the final and yang--fire, metal, wood, earth, water-- agent, metal ~- (also means gold). In addition to interacted to create the material world and to depicting a situation in which the five agents have embody the forces that govern it. With respect to returned to a state of balance, each agent stands earthquakes, normally water (purely yin) over- for an important part of the immediate post- comes fire (purely yang). Furthermore, water is earthquake experience. Wood represents the houses the agent normally holding sway in the subterra- and other structures, fire stands for the fires that nean environment. Earthquakes result from the raged for days, the watery namazu caused the earth- occasions when fire overcomes water underground, quake in the first place, which dislodged metal thus reversing the normal state of affairs. A broad- (money) from the coffers of the rich and put it sheet issued just after the Ansei earthquake of into the hands of labourers. The text accompanying 1855 explained its cause in terms of both yin and the image reinforces the theme of the five agents. yang forces and the movements of namazu, but it This print combines scholarly explanations of earth- called the namazu-based explanation an 'unsophis- quakes and folk explanations in a way that the resi- ticated theory'. (Wakamizu 2003, pp. 16-17). dents of Edo could have 'read' in either relatively Popular newspapers often started their accounts of simple or sophisticated manners without contradic- earthquakes with a simple, brief statement of yin tion (Wakamizu 2003, pp. 68-70; Miyata & and yang forces being out of balance. For Takada 1995, p. 304). example, the text of an account of the Ise earth- The precise origins of the link between namazu quake (14th day, 6th month, 1854) explains that a and earthquakes in Japan are unclear. It is possible clash of yin and yang forces resulted in thunder in that the general idea of a giant fish supporting the the skies and shaking of the earth. An account of earth came to Japan from China as part of popular an earthquake in Odawara (2nd day, 2nd month, Buddhist beliefs. Kojima points out that several 1853) employs verbatim the same explanation Buddhist temples in China feature an image of the (Kitahara 1999, pp. 32-33). Bodhisattva Guanyin standing atop a giant fish The key point here is that in nineteenth-century that roughly resembles the Japanese namazu Japan, multiple theories of earthquake causality (Kojima 1995, pp. 188-189). Some degree of co-existed. Most of these theories postulated an Chinese influence undoubtedly facilitated the imbalance in the cosmic forces, expressed in development in Japan of both the idea that terms of the five agents (gogyO) of yin and yang namazu cause earthquakes and the view of earth- or the subterranean movement of a giant creature. quakes as resulting from an imbalance or aberration Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

80 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS

ancient idea of heaven's mandate (tianming). In this view, which could accommodate both abstract and anthropomorphic conceptions of the cosmic forces, heaven (the cosmos) bestows on rulers a mandate to govern based on their moral fitness. Earthquakes, floods, famine, epidemics, and other natural calamities were signs of heaven's displea- sure. This idea became the bedrock of classical Chinese political theory. It was also influential in Japan, especially in the notion that the cosmic forces periodically rectify a social order gone awry (yonaoshi, 'world rectification'). Earthquakes were a major tool for bringing about such rectification, and in this sense, they were not random occurrences. The print described above in which the earthquake redistributes wealth reflects this way of thinking. Earthquakes, therefore, necessarily had political significance in premodern Japan, and commentary on them could easily become commentary on the state of society and government.

The namazu-e (catfish picture prints): Japanese responses to the Ansei earthquake

For Japan, a particularly well documented example of how folk beliefs intersected with contemporary Fig. 11. Untitled namazu-e showing (1) the political and social culture is the Ansei earthquake co-existence of two modes of thinking regarding the of 1855. On the second day of the tenth month causes of earthquakes and (2) the nama-u as an agent of (November 11 in the solar calendar), a magnitude world rectification (yo-naoshi). Three members of the 6.9 earthquake with a shallow focus shook Edo construction trades, identified by their tools, are (present-day Tokyo) and a wide surrounding area. celebrating their newfound wealth (the gold coins Aftershocks continued for the next nine days. apparently falling from the sky) by drinking with the Estimates of the number killed in the greater Edo namazu. The foundation stone appears to be floating in area range from 7000 to 10 000 (4000-5000 for the air. On jacket of the man in the left foreground is the the downtown area), but the precise figure is uncer- character for earth (512), while the jacket of the man in the right foreground reveals the character for fire (~j(~). tain. This death toll amounted to roughly 1 in 170 The character for water (7]tr forms the pattern of the Edo residents, and shaking and subsequent fires namazu's robes, and the character for wood (/~) does destroyed 1 in 3 non-military houses and other the same for the jacket of the man behind the namazu. structures (lnagaki 1995, p. 64). The injured were The airborne gold coins stand for metal (/,~), whose especially numerous, and fires burned for days character also means gold or money. Earth, fire, water, throughout the city. wood, and metal are the five agents of yin and yang, A remarkable coincidence between geology, whose imbalance was the cause of earthquakes in many geography, and politics magnified the psychologi- premodern theories throughout East Asia. The shaking cal impact of this earthquake in such a way as to of the earthquake rectifies this imbalance, both in an abstract sense and in more specific ways. In this case, the make it appear as a direct attack on the heart of tradesmen are receiving metal (gold, money) from the the bakufu. Japan's military government based in wealthy members of society. Here the namazu can be Edo. The distribution and severity of damage was viewed as a literal cause of earthquakes, as a metaphor not uniform. Some areas suffered severe devas- for earthquakes, and as a symbol of social rectification tation and loss of life, whereas other parts of the (from Wakamizu 2003, p. 69). city came through the ordeal with nearly all buildings and people shaken but intact. The damage was less a function of proximity to the epicentre in the forces of yin and yang. Nevertheless, the than it was a function of topography and soil con- close link between namazu (or anything similar) ditions. The Yamanote Tablelands, an extension and earthquakes never developed in China. of the Musashino Plateau, wound their way Perhaps the most significant Chinese influence on through parts of the heart of Edo, constituting Japanese views of earthquakes came from the modest upland areas. These upland areas were not Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 81 always obvious because of erosion and past filling government authorities outlawed their production with soil or debris of low-lying areas. In 1590, and burned the printing blocks. These symbolically when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) made the rich prints are a record of the Ansei earthquake, and fishing village of Edo his base of operations, they served as a medium through which the human engineers and construction workers began common people of Edo could interpret the event to reclaim the marshy flats around Edo Castle. (Abe 2000, pp. 26-28, 46). Therefore, namazu-e This process accelerated rapidly during the early are an excellent case study in the use of historical seventeenth century, after Edo became the de documents and symbolic language to complement facto political capital of Japan. Edo Castle itself conventional geological evidence in reconstructing was on natural high ground, but much of the the history of geological events. These prints also prime land around the castle had been part of a provide insight into the cosmological, social, and fiver drainage basin of Edo Bay a mere two or political meaning that many nineteenth-century three centuries earlier. Japanese ascribed to major earthquakes. More gen- When the earthquake struck, it shook the whole erally, the views of earthquakes manifest in city, but structures on the firm foundation of the namazu-e may be part of a global set of local uplands generally fared better. The severe damage responses to earthquakes that share broad themes occurred in low-lying areas, especially areas of in common such as the notion of a chthonic fish/ land reclaimed from marshes and waterways. As dragon/snake-like creature as the immediate fate would have it, the most prominent neighbour- cause of the earthquake or a connection between hood of samurai residences, home to the bakufu's earthquakes and thunder. The following section closest supporters among the domain lords, examines namazu-e with respect to their value as leading bakufu officials, and several key bakufu earthquake records, documentation of social offices, was located at a place that during the responses to earthquakes, and possible commonal- sixteenth century had been the Hibiya Inlet of Edo ity of themes with symbolic representations of Bay. The earthquake devastated this neighbour- earthquakes elsewhere in the world. hood, as if it had targeted the government for destruction. One residential zone further out from the castle, the area adjacent to the elite neighbour- Correspondence bem,een namazu-e and hood, was home to commoners. Built on a firm earthquake-related events foundation, it suffered only moderate damage and stood in stark contrast to the elite neighbourhood's The most common types of namazu-e to appear collapse. In the eyes of commoners and elite alike, immediately after the initial shaking were talisma- the cosmic forces made a strong statement that nic prints that people could hang in their houses night (Noguchi 1997, pp. 73-108). in the hope of warding off further damage. Aside As if to add insult to injury, there was one more from the fires, aftershocks were also serious con- odd twist to the earthquake damage. In the com- cerns for the residents of Edo. Many of these talis- moner neighbourhood of Kitachi-ku, for example, manic namazu-e depict the Kashima deity, often not one main building collapsed. Nearly all the with the assistance of the thunder deity or others, serious injuries from this neighbourhood were the decisively pinning down a giant namazu with a result of falling roof tiles or eaves from collapsed sword or the foundation stone. In some variations, storehouses, built as separate structures from the the namazu vigorously apologize, sometimes in main buildings. Many other neighbourhoods reported writing, for the destruction wrought by their reck- the same pattern, and all visual evidence points to less movements. Frequently, groups of smaller storehouses sustaining much worse damage than namazu, usually representing aftershocks, surround any other type of structure. These rigid, heavy, mud a giant namazu. The purchase and display of an walled, tile-roofed storehouses tended to vibrate at image depicting the Kashima deity having regained the same frequency as the high-frequency seismic firm control over the various namazu was, of waves generated by the shallow-focus earthquake. course, wishful thinking. Kitani points out that The irony is that the bakufu ordered this rigid, namazu-e functioned as a mental health aid for heavy storehouse design in 1842 as a fire-prevention those caught up in severe circumstances largely measure (Noguchi 1997, pp. 118-120). In this way beyond their control. By dealing with fear, too, the earthquake seemed to be paying especially suggesting a degree of reassurance, and expressing close attention to the government in its destruction. emotions such as anger and disgust, often leavened Within two days of the initial shaking, printers with irreverent humour, popular prints helped resi- set up makeshift facilities in the relatively less dents of Edo cope with what today we might call damaged areas and began to produce namazu-e post traumatic stress disorder (Kitani 1995b, 1999). for sale through street vendors. Namazu-e sold One of these talismanic images, entitled Jishin briskly for approximately two months before o-mamori (earthquake protection: Fig. 12) is Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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protection for the integrity of houses. There are four smaller namazu in front of the giant namazu, all bowing down vigorously and abjectly before the quelling power of the two deities. At first glance, these four smaller namazu may seem to be aftershocks. Normally, however, aftershocks appear in these prints as a larger group of small namazu. In this case, the four small namazu each wear robes with characters for place names on their backs: Kyrto, ShinshO, Odawara, and Ise (Wakamizu 2003, pp. 85-86; Miyata & Takada 1995, p. 262). These place names correspond to major earthquakes from the relatively recent past. They attest to a widespread knowledge of recent earthquakes among Japan's urban population, even those that took place in other regions of the country. Indeed, the text of many popular newspaper accounts mentions recent earthquakes, either in passing or comparatively, when discussing the Ansei earthquake in 1855. Let us examine some of the details symbolized by each of these small namazu. The 'Kyrto' namazu stands for an 1830 earthquake of about magnitude 6.5 shook the old imperial capital of Kyrto causing about 280 deaths, 1300 injuries, and an unusually large number of aftershocks (Usami 2003, pp. 131-132). Because Kyrto rarely experienced earthquakes of any sig- Fig. 12. A namazu-e talisman to protect against earthquake damage. Notice the dragon-like tail of the nificance, this otherwise rather modest seismic namazu, probably an iconographic remnant of the older event became an occasion for worry, especially belief that a subterranean dragon caused earthquakes. because it occurred almost in concert with the pro- The thunder god (right) is typically a symbol of unrest, mulgation of a new era name, Tempr. Matsuzaki often associated with earthquakes, but here he lends his Krdr, for example, a Confucian scholar living mallet to the task of helping the Kashima deity (left) near Edo, took anxious notice of both the Kyoto suppress the giant namazu. At the top left is 'Kashima' earthquake and the unseasonable blooming of written in a special 'spirit writing' script associated with cherry trees. Writing in his diary a day after the popular Daoism and more commonly found in China Temp6 era started, he said that 'Our ruler is virtu- than Japan. Directly above it is an iconographic depiction of Ursa Major (Great Bear or Big Dipper) ous, and our habits upright.., so there should be constellation, thought to be an especially lucky set of no reason for any disasters .... All we can do is stars. The four small namazu each wear human robes pray for the Heavenly Protection of yesterday's with characters for place names on their backs: Ise, new era name' (Bolitho 1989, p. 117). Shinsh0, Odawara, and Kyoto. These place names 'ShinshO' is another term for Shinano, present- correspond to major earthquakes from the relatively day Nagano Prefecture, which was the site of the recent past and attest to a widespread knowledge of magnitude 7,4 Zenkrji earthquake of 1847 that earthquakes that took place even in other regions of the resulted in at least 10 000 deaths by most accounts. country owing to inter-city news networks (from Miyata & Takada 1995, p. 110). According to one newspaper account from the time:

In the third month of 1847 on the 24th day around 10pm, a large especially interesting. It features a giant namazu-- earthquake struck Shinano. Unfortunately,that month the Zenk6 half catfish, half dragon--pinned firmly to the Temple (ZenkOji) was displaying a Buddhist statue, and so ground by the Kashima deity's sword through its people from all around had crowded in to see it. A large crowd was milling around, which exacerbated the panic when the earth- head, which the thunder deity is pounding with quake struck. Many of them were pinned down by or crushed his mallet. The upper left corner features an icono- beneath collapsinghouses. Moreover, fire flew from the collapsed graphic image of the Ursa Major (Great Bear or Big houses in an instant, and before long, the district in front of the Dipper) constellation and the word 'Kashima" ren- temple gate was a sea of flames. Aftershocks sounding like dered in the peculiar 'spirit writing' of Daoist talis- thunder continued without cease, there being more than 80 mans. The text explains the various problems the throughout the night. A fissure appeared in the earth from which namazu have caused and ends with a statement of flowed mud and sand. A cliff overhanging the north fork of the Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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Sai River collapsed, whichcaused massive flooding. Disasters two depict the deity as trying without success to restrain or three deep caused, it is said, the deaths of 30 000. Prior to the the namazu and others are more irreverent, depict- earthquake, the temple put up a notice board of regulations for ing the deity or deities as lazy or negligent viewing the Buddhist image in front of its gate. It disappeared in (Fig. 13). A few prints even go so far as to the night, as did a second one. After putting up a third one. a guard was posted around the clock. Reflecting on this matter. demote Kashima and elevate Amaterasu (the solar people claimed that it must have been a way that the main deity associated with the imperial family) as the Buddha of the temple tried to warn the people of an impending main hope for a return of stability (Abe 2000). earthquake (Nishimaki 1978. p. 126). Nevertheless, because the local deities were the only forces likely to restrain the nalrutzu in the Mention of the Zenk0ji earthquake was common in future, the most numerous form of namazu-e were popular accounts of subsequent earthquakes and talismanic images such as the one discussed pre- occurred especially frequently in images and docu- viously (Fig. 12). In other words, the residents of ments connected with the Ansei earthquake. Edo experienced both anger toward the deities and Odawara is a city slightly to the south of Edo, a desire to beg them for assistance, and early which experienced a major earthquake of namazu-e embodied both attitudes, albeit rarely on unknown magnitude on the 3rd day of the second a single page. Another variety of early namazu-e month, 1853. According to one newspaper depicts the residents of Edo themselves as suppres- account, houses 'collapsed like chess pieces'. A sing the namazu, often quite violently. In addition to corner of Odawara castle collapsed, and the the obvious emotion of anger, these prints also shaking and subsequent fires killed 3780 (Nishi- depict the wishful thinking whereby ordinary maki 1978, p. 140; Kitahara 1999, p. 32). people might have some control over the raging Finally, the 'Ise' namazu represents an earth- forces of nature (Fig. 14). quake that occurred on the 14th day of the 6th As the fires subsided along with the fear of after- month, 1854. It shook Iga-Ueno in present-day shocks, the work of recovery and rebuilding began. Mie Prefecture and the Ise and Konoe areas in During this phase, a second wave of namazu-e present-day Shiga Prefecture. It caused widespread began to emerge, many of which featured the property damage, destroying over 20 000 homes, theme of world rectification (yonaoshi). We have and was widely reported in the popular press of already examined one case of this type of image the major urban areas (Kitahara 1999, p. 33). (Fig. 11). As agents of world rectification, the There was at least one more talismanic namazu-e destructive power of the namazu served a worthy of similar iconographic design featuring the same end. During the 1850s, many denizens of Edo four smaller namazu representing the same past increasingly came to see the bakufu as ineffective earthquakes (Miyata & Takada 1995, p. 262). and corrupt. The early nineteenth century was a More common were textual references to past earth- time of frequent crop failures, famine, strange quakes. Namazu-e often mentioned or discussed weather patterns, urban riots, and mass religious one or more of these previous earthquakes, pilgrimages---often started by rumours of super- thereby linking them with the Ansei earthquake. natural phenomena--whose participants sometimes The popular urban press and inter-city news net- developed into unruly mobs. Some of the urban works preserved the memory of recent earthquakes riots were the result of the hoarding of basic com- in the Japanese islands even among those who modities by unscrupulous merchants in an effort did not experience them directly. This point is to create artificially high prices. In short, there significant because, as we will see, many urban were many reasons for ordinary urban dwellers to Japanese came to regard the Ansei earthquake as regard their world as needing radical rectification part of a series of 'world rectification' (yonaoshi) and thus teetering on the edge of one or more events. major heaven-sent calamities. The major themes of the namazu-e of 1855 and As we have seen, the uneven severity of destruc- the sequence of the appearance of these themes tion due to variations in topography, soil conditions, tracked the physical, psychological, and social and construction type caused the earthquake to courses of the earthquake and its aftermath. appear as a direct attack on the government. Never- Immediately after the initial shaking, the emphasis theless, there was collateral damage in the form of in namazu-e was on the destruction. Commentary death, injury, and destruction to the innocent. In on the destruction assumed at least four different some examples of the second wave of prints, the forms. One form was a relatively straightforward namazu seem genuinely to regret the damage suf- reporting of the damage via images of collapsing fered by the innocent. In prints produced after the buildings, fires, dead and injured people, and so extent of devastation had become clear, namazu forth. A second type of early namazu-e criticized often expressed second thoughts or regret after the Kashima deity and the deities associated with seeing the effects of their deeds. One way to him for their negligence. Some of these prints depict this point was to show smaller namazu Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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vigorously criticizing a giant mmmzu, whose movements caused excessive shaking. Another was to depict namazu assisting earthquake victims in various ways (Fig. 15). Other prints featured anthropomorphic world-rectifying namazu. The most common depiction of world-rectifying namazu shows them re-distributing wealth. For example, they force the rich to vomit or excrete money (Fig. 16). Consider the effects of a major earthquake on different social groups. Of course, the shaking itself and the resulting fires would be dangerous and terrifying for anyone in society regardless of status or circumstances. The aftershocks would probably cause even more damage over the course of the next day or several days. Relief efforts, salvage operations, the hauling away of rubble, and rebuilding would begin soon after the aftershocks subsided. Labour, both skilled and unskilled, would be in great demand during this recovery period. Nearly anyone willing to work would be able to find work at an elevated wage, at least for a while. The wealthy, whose expensive homes and businesses would need repair or rebuilding, would have to pay these high wages to the labourers. Of course, the homes of the labourers, too, might need rebuilding, but they would have been able to afford it. Official wage rates tbr various types of labourers rose between sixteen and seventy percent in the wake of the earth- Fig, 13. In this namazu-e, fires rage and the earth quake, but actual wages for carpenters, plasterers, shakes while a tired-looking Ebisu--filling in for the and other skilled tradesmen roughly quintupled Kashima Deity wbo is out of town to attend a during the period of peak demand (Noguchi 1997, meeting in Ise---dozes against the foundation stone. Money (large gold coins) is falling from the burning pp. 202-203). city, which presages the world rectification theme Most of the population of Edo and other large that will become more prominent in namazu-e during cities made their living through unskilled labour, the rebuilding phase of the earthquake's aftermath. through skilled craftwork, or by operating small The strange looking man on the left is the thunder shops (including street vendors). Many of these deity, a close associate of the Kashima deity. The occupations would have profited nicely from the thunder deity is engaging in a peculiar pastime of post-quake recovery work. Therefore, for many some Edo residents, what might call 'extreme urban dwellers, earthquakes, although terrifying farting', or 'thunder farting'. The main object of this and destructive, were also a boon for personal and sport was to make more noise than your opponents. According to the scholar Hiraga Gennai (1729- family finances. It would have been like money 1779) in his treatise HOhiron (On farting), thunder pouring out from the heavens and into their farting made its debut in 1774 at the Ry6goku hands--a common image in many second-wave Bridge, a major site of popular culture displays and namazu-e (e.g. Fig, 16). Not all occupations, spectacles in Edo. Small drums issue from the however, benefited from the earthquake. Some thunder deity's posterior, emphasizing the namazu-e criticized the tendency of carpenters, thunderous quality of his performance. The man on plasterers, and other earthquake profit-makers for horseback at right is the Kashima deity, rushing back a callous neglect of their less fortunate neighbours from his meeting with other major deities in Ise. In (Tomisawa 1999, pp. 194-198: Fig. 17). the scene depicted here Kashima's temporary replacement, the less capable deity Ebisu, is sleeping More broadly, there was a strong sense that earth- on the job, and the thunder deity, who should be quakes, as destructive as they are in the short term, working, is off at the Ry6goku Bridge literally provide an impetus for society to regain its social farting around. These incompetent deities have and financial health. The thinking here extrapolates allowed a major disaster to unfold in the form of a from prevailing theories about human health. For a fire-ravaged, post-earthquake Edo (interpretation person to be physically healthy, the most important based on Wakamizu 2003, pp. 70-73: image from consideration is that the flow of blood and vital Miyata & Takada 1995, p. 106). essence (ki--the major concern of acupuncture) Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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Fig. 14. This namazu-e shows the courtesans and male workers of the elite brothel district, Shin-Yoshiwara, attacking the earthquake namazu (and children attacking a child-sized one. right foreground). This district suffered especially devastating damage from the Ansei earthquake because of its location atop reclaimed swamp land. Most of its buildings were destroyed, loss of life was severe, and, although the elite brothel district quickly re-opened in temporary quarters, the earthquake suppressed business for months. Notice the group of five men in the upper left comer. At first glance. they seem to be rushing to join in the attack. Instead. however, they are calling on the crowd to stop its attempt to subdue the namazu. Their tools identify these men as construction workers of various types--the element in society that stood most to profit from the earthquake. be vigorous and unimpeded. Japanese in the early major political events of those times, specifically nineteenth century typically regarded disease as the arrival in Edo of Matthew Perry of the United the result of a blockage in the flow of these fluids. States in 1853 and 1854 to negotiate a formal diplo- Economists and social commentators of the time matic treaty with Japan. Depictions of Perry and the frequently likened the flow of wealth, especially Americans in the popular press were generally metallic currency, through society to be the major unflattering. Some accounts, however, regarded factor in social health. In this sense, the activity of Perry's arrival as a world rectifying event to shake merchants was normally a good thing because up Japan's complacent rulers in the bakufu and they were the main agents of the exchange, and the warrior class (samurai) in general. The occur- thus circulation, of goods and wealth. Successful rence of major earthquakes (1853, 1854, and merchants, however, often amassed great stores of 1855) within a short time of Perry's arrival fit per- wealth and sometimes hoarded goods in an effort fectly into this world rectification scheme. Some to raise prices by creating an artificial shortage. nama~u-e therefore made veiled connections Thus, major earthquakes would literally shake between Perry and the Ansei earthquake. Because things up and put the stagnating goods and wealth direct commentary on political events of this mag- back into circulation, especially into the hands of nitude would have been dangerous, the printmakers ordinary people. In this sense earthquakes were employed plays on words and symbols to conceal like medicine for an ailing society (Fig. 18). political commentary. The theme of world renewal in the namazu-e In one well-known print, a giant namazu appears went beyond economic redistribution. A close to have partially morphed into a whale spouting reading of the prints reveals a connection with the money, but not from a blowhole (Fig. 19). Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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Fig. 15. 'The sympathy of the world-rectifying Fig. 16. "The outward-bound ship of the wealthy' namazu' (Yo-naoshi namazu no nasake). This print is (Kane-mochi-tachi no defime). This namazu-e is a typical of those suggesting that the namazu feel remorse typical illustration of the world-rectifying namazu for the high levels of damage they have caused in their helping to return society to economic health by forcing capacity of agents of world rectification. Here they help the money horded by the wealthy to return to circulation. rescue earthquake victims. In other prints, they might be From the point of view of workers in the construction dispensing medical care to the wounded. trades and many other types of tabourers, the higher wages and extra work caused by the earthquake was like money pouring from the heavens.

Instead, the money comes from precisely the place where a smoke stack would be located on the steam on circumstances, symbolic language of this sort ships of the time. Furthermore, the entire appear- is capable of indicating: 1) the existence of major ance of the namazu resembles that of one of seismic activity in the past (and thus potentially in Perry's 'black ships'. The text of an accompanying the future); 2) the time and location of specific song written on the print includes a play on words earthquakes and tsunamis; 3) the approximate that links 'great country' with 'big black' and a intensity of specific earthquakes; 4) local under- popular deity of wealth whose name is literally standing of the cause(s) of earthquakes; and 5) Big Black (Kitani 1995a, pp. 56-61). At least the socio-political significance of earthquakes. some Japanese at the time of the Ansei earthquake Non-geological evidence such as local written explicitly linked prosperity, world rectification, records, monuments, place names, folklore, and Perry's expedition, and the earthquake. The non-Western elite intellectual theories of namazu-e functioned as sophisticated commentary earthquake mechanisms also have the potential to on geological, social, and political events. supplement conventional geological evidence for understanding past seismic activity and its effects. Discussion In short, symbolic language and other non- geological evidence deserve the serious attention The allegorical tales from Cascadia describing of Earth scientists. The relative infrequency of flooding, shaking, and other earthquake-related extraordinarily damaging earthquakes and their phenomena and the namazu-e of Japan exist at the wide social impacts argue for inclusion and study nexus of social and geological reality. Depending of all relevant records. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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Fig. 18. 'Powdered medicine selling namazu' Fig. 17. 'The hard-to-figure-out bird' (Nangitotq). The (Furidashi namazu kusuri). Here a world-rectifying earthquake made many of Edo's carpenters, plasterers, namas.u sells a type of medicine called 'furidashi'. and other specialized tradesmen quite wealthy, at least in During the Tokugawa period, furidashi was powdered the short term. Here a group of them is in a fancy medicine to be dissolved in hot water and consumed like restaurant, drinking and sitting around a namazu they are tea. But the wordfuridashi, then and now, also suggests going to eat. Suddenly a giant bird swoops down and renewal or making a fresh start. Despite (and because of) removes their feast. A look at the bird quickly suggests the destruction they cause, earthquakes were an why it is hard to figure out. The bird consists of the opportunity for renewal. More concretely, labourers of various tools from those occupations who have suffered all kinds benefited economically from the post-quake because of the earthquake (e.g. large hairpins of the reconstruction. Skilled crafts workers such as carpenters, courtesans, books, dry goods, abacus, tall geta shoes, plasterers, roof-tile makers, and so forth did especially and tea ceremony utensils). It is a statement about and well. Sure enough, the namazu-man carries doll-like critique of the tendency of the newly-rich to forget about images of these types of workers. In this view, the their less fortunate former peers. earthquake was beneficial medicine for many members of society, and for society as a whole. The text of this image explains in detail the efficacy of this medicine for restoring economic health. It restores the flow and Although the data from Cascadia and Japan are circulation of money that has been collecting and sufficient to support the contention that non- stagnating in storehouses. Furthermore, it restores geological evidence might play a constructive role warmth to the cold-hearted and cures poverty. It reduces in creating a complete record of seismic activity, laziness and the ill effects of luxurious living. Strong they also suggest intriguing possibilities about medicine indeed! human perceptions and understanding of earthquakes. Plate tectonics were not understood to be the cause of earthquakes until the mid-twentieth speculated about their causes (all early theories ulti- century, and all prior considerations of earthquake mately proving incorrect), both in folklore from causes were speculative. Human nature demands seismogenic areas and in the writings of scientific an explanation for events experienced over exten- thinkers including Aristotle, DaVinci, Darwin, sive areas and tbat cause damage, fatalities, and Lyell, Humboldt, Kant, and Mallet (Oeser 1996- permanent land-level changes. Through the ages, 2001). Early attempts at scientific explanation people documented earthquake effects and sometimes found it useful to compare earth Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

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tremors to human illnesses such as loss of circulation or ague (Oeser 1996-2001). Some scientists still find it useful to consider the Earth as a living body. The Gaia hypothesis, proposed by James Lovelock (1972), is capable of stimulating integrative thinking and lively debate about large- scale ecological phenomena. Similarly, specu- lations and descriptions found in earthquake folklore can serve as a springboard for contemplating earthquake effects at particular geographic sites. Comparing the earthquake-related lore of Cascadia with the namazu-e of Japan, we find similar motifs and notions of causal mechanisms. In both areas, for example, a chthonic, serpentine creature of great power, associated with water and living under the earth or ocean, is the immediate cause of earthquakes. Although the Japanese namazu is typically a type of catfish, it was a development from earlier notions of subterranean dragons. Similar notions are found throughout the world. Legends from Sumatra attribute earthquakes to a homed water serpent that struggles to shake off the land above him (Dixon 1916; Frazier 1918). Piccardi (2001) has reported that the lairs of chthonic dragons in Greek mythology are located directly above active faults, as is Scotland's Loch Ness monster. Although not all mythical or folk theories of earthquakes view the causal mechanism of earth- Fig, 19. 'The giant narnazu and Edo's prosperity quakes as the movement of a fish, serpentine, or [shaking]' (O-namazu Edo no furui). This namazu-e reptilian creature within or beneath the earth or abounds in plays on words. A whale-like namazu as waters, this theme seems to be common to diverse large as a ship spouts money into Edo Bay. The cultures throughout the world. people on shore vigorously beckon for it to come Another widely distributed theme regarding closer. The small boats appear to contain fishermen earthquakes is the connection between earthquakes who might harpoon the whale-namazu in an attempt and thunder. In the Japanese case, we find the close to pull it closer to shore. The whale-namazu looks much like a 'black ship,' that is a steamship. Notice association of the Kashima deity and the thunder that it is not spouting money from a blowhole. deity. In the southern part of Cascadia, thunder which would be located near its head. Instead, the appears in human form and frequently appears as money pours forth from the place where a smoke the companion of Earthquake. Along the middle stack would typically be located on a steam ship. and northern Cascadia coast, the Thunderbird The small boats resemble those of the sketch artists appears in numerous stories describing marine who surrounded Perry's fleet when it first arrived in flooding and/or ground shaking. In European 1853. The text includes a song. It explains that the thought, thunder is closely associated with earth- ground moves under the great country, collapsing a quakes in the Bible (King James version: Isaiah mountain of treasure into the city. There is a play on words here. 'Ground of the great country' is 29:6; Revelation 16:18; 11:13, 19), in sermons 'Daikoku no tsuchi'. 'Great country' is pronounced (Wesley 1750), and in c. 1750 scientific thought the same as the deity Daikoku, whose wealth-giving (Franklyn 1750; Stukely 1749-1750; Bina 1751 mallet happens to be 'Daikoku no tsuchi'. Daikoku, & 1758). In India, texts from the eleventh to sixth the deity, means 'Big Black'. In short, at least some century Rc say that 'once upon a time mountains Japanese at the time of the Ansei earthquake, could fly and move. Thus they were frequently explicitly linked Perry's expedition, the earthquake, falling on the earth causing earthquakes continu- and the state of their society. Reading the song part ously. At the request of the earth, the Creator of the text requires turning the image upside down. ordered Indra (thunder) to cut the wings of the Doing so alters the visual elements, turning the spray of coins into the mountain of wealth mentioned in mountains so that the earth became stable.' the song. (Iyengar 1999). Moving beyond images of the mechanical causes of earthquakes, we find that many cultures throughout the world regarded earthquakes as purposeful Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

NATIVE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FOLKLORE 89 events, not random occurrences. More specifically, they can also be beneficial in certain circumstances there was a pronounced tendency for local (Smits 2002; Shimizu 2003, p. 136). populations to regard earthquakes as divine punish- In the case of Cascadia, evidence for considering ments. The Japanese notion of world-rectification, earthquakes to have a constructive aspect is sparser, although not solely punitive, includes the idea that and the cultural context distinct. Rather than rela- earthquakes punish those who have harmed tively centralized and highly stratified governance, society such as merchants who hoard wealth or a as in Japan, there were numerous distinct and rela- corrupt and ineffective government. tively isolated tribal groups with generally more In European thought, unspecified sin was said to fluid social hierarchies. Although reports of death cause earthquakes, with piety put forth as a cure. and destruction are present in many stories (and The sermon of the British minister Charles Wesley indeed, are one of the factors that helps us to ident- (1750) makes this clear 'Earthquakes are set forth ify them as earthquake- or tsunami-related), various by the inspired writers as God's proper judicial tales from Cascadia do attest to human flexibility in act, or the punishment of sin: Sin is the cause, response to earthquakes. A story from Vancouver earthquakes the effect, of his anger.' Stories from Island tells how, following the 1700 tsunami, rem- Cascadia and Alaska include examples of earth- nants of a tribe that had been largely obliterated quakes following misdeeds such as cruelty to offered tribal leadership to a newcomer arriving animals (Fig. 1, story lc), greed (Fig. 1, story 23), after the event (Fig. 1, story 6). Another account unbridled lust (Adamson 1934, p 216-217) and from the same area tells how, after the 1700 incest (Krause 1956, p. 183-184). tsunami washed away the people of Pachena Bay, From the above examples, it is likely that at a property rights passed to a group related by mar- deep level many or most of the world's premodern riage (Fig. 1, story 7). societies regarded earthquakes in a similar way. Another story, from the northwest tip of The earth shook because of the movements of a Washington, tells of extreme hunger when the tide water-dwelling fish, whale, snake, dragon, or refused to go out (Peterson 1976), a possible refer- reptile within the earth or beneath the water. This ence to shellfish beds subsided below the low-tide shaking process was connected with the phenom- level. Starvation was averted when the Thunderbird enon of thunder, and the shaking was, at least in brought a whale to shore. Stories from northern part, a world-altering retribution visited on earthly California report improved fishing at sites where inhabitants by the cosmic forces. The alteration of the earth subsided and was inundated (Fig. 1, the world included destruction of the existing stories 31b and 32). Like the Japanese, the Yurok social and material equilibrium, destructive and of northern California saw earthquakes as an constructive changes in physical landforms, indication of an unbalanced world, and held and opportunities for some to advance in social annual midwinter world-renewal ceremonies with or material status while the fortunes of others a Jumping or Deerskin Dance intended to stave declined. off earthquakes and other impending catastrophes The Japanese case is noteworthy in that the and restore balance to the world (Kroeber 1976). namazu figures comment extensively on both the Although earthquake-related figures in Cascadia destructive and constructive aspects of earthquakes. are generally treated with great respect and some- As we have seen, images produced soon after the times fear, a few stories present a comical aspect to main earthquake, at a time when aftershocks contin- the Thunder figure, characterizing him as a hostile ued to shake the ground, stressed the destructive father-in-law who sets dangerous challenges for his power of the namazu. Once the most hazardous human son-in-law, including bringing two fighting aspects of the earthquake had passed, then the stones, called White Agate and Blue Rock, into the emphasis shifted to opportunity for labourers and house. The son-in-law has special powers that other members of the general population who protect him, and manages to turn the danger around stood to benefit economically from the reconstruc- to injure the father-in-law (e.g. Adamson 1934); the tion. More broadly, the earthquake represented warring rocks tear Thunder's house to pieces. opportunity for social renewal. On balance, Large earthquakes create a geographically especially looking at it in hindsight, ordinary Japa- distributed set of shared and individual experiences nese tended to view the Ansei earthquake of 1855 as that are amenable to a broad range of human analy- more of an opportunity than a hazard. The namazu sis and interpretation. Although individual fortunes image was sufficiently complex that it could accom- or even cultures rise or fall, the stories of the survi- modate a range of earthquake-related phenomena. vors persist. Listening to and integrating local Furthermore, many other Japanese supernatural stories into our consideration of what an earthquake creatures, such as the oni (demon) and tengu means anchors us in our geographic and historic (goblin) have a similar quality. They are fearsome, setting in multiple and thought-provoking ways. powerful, and often destructive. On the other hand, Earthquakes belong to communities, and their Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Simon Fraser University on June 6, 2016

90 R.S. LUDWIN & G. J. SMITS popular representations are worthy of a place along- ADAMSON. T. 1934. Folk-Tales of the Coast Salish. side the persuasive explanations of science. American Folk-Lore Society, G. E. Stechert and Co., New York. AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY Catalog. North American Ethnographic Collections, Cowi- Authors' contributions: chan Culture, Acquired in 1903 from James Teit. Original catalog page entry: Xoaexoe mask. Item Ludwin: compiled and interpreted stories from [ 16/9222]. http://anthro.amnh.org/. Cascadia, co-wrote article text. Smits: compiled AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY Catalog. and interpreted Japanese material, co-wrote article North American Ethnographic Collections, Cowi- text. Carver: compiled stories and cultural back- chan Culture, Acquired in 1929 from Lt. George ground for northern CA and southern OR coast. T. Emmons. Original catalog page entry: Mask known as Skhway-wha used in Whirlwind dance. James: located Puget Sound stories and provided Item [ 16.1 / 1871 ]. http://anthro.amnh.org/. cultural background. Jonientz-Trister: located AR1MA, E. Y. ET AL. 1991. Between Ports Alberni and Puget Sound story and provided cultural back- Renfrew: Notes on West Coast Peoples. Canadian ground. McMillan: compiled stories and cultural Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Canadian Ethnol- knowledge of British Columbia. Losey: compiled ogy Service, Mercury Series Paper 121, The stories and cultural knowledge of central OR tsunami at Pachena Bay, pp. 230-231. [This refer- coast. Dennis: provided Vancouver Island cultural ence incorrectly identifies Louis Nookmis as Louis expertise and unpublished information. Rasmussen: Clamhouse. Co-author Robert Dennis, the great- provided Puget Sound cultural expertise and unpub- grandson of Chief Louis Nookmis and Chief Coun- cillor of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation has supplied lished information: De Los Angeles: provided this correction.] Puget Sound cultural expertise and unpublished ATWATER, B. F. & HEMPHILL-HALEY, E. 1997. information. Buerge: provided information and Recurrence intervals for great earthquakes of the references on Puget Sound Native cultures. past 3500 years at northeastern Willapa Bay. Thrush: Puget Sound ethnographic archaeological Washington, US Geological Survey Professional and ecological background, Clague: Vancouver Paper 1576, United States Government Printing Island tsunami deposits and ethnographic accounts. Office, Washington, D.C. Bowechop: provided cultural expertise and located ATWATER, B. F. & MOORE, A. L. 1992. A Tsunami Olympic Peninsula story. Wray: located Olympic about 1000 years ago in Puget Sound, Washington. Peninsula stories and provided cultural knowledge. Science, 258, 1614-1617. BALLARD. A. 1929. Mythology of Southern Puget Our deepest thanks to B. Atwater of the USGS; Sound. University of Washington Publications in A. Blukis Onat of BOAS Inc., Seattle, Anthroplogy, 2, 57-81. G. Crawford of Washington State Emergency Man- BARBEAU, M. & MELVIN, G. 1943. The Indian Speaks. agement Division; the Olympic Peninsula Inter- The McMillan Company of Canada, Toronto. Tribal Cultural Advisory Committee including BINA, A. 1751. Ragionamente sopra le cagione de C. Morganroth III, V. Riebe, and J. James: also terremoti. Perngia. In: OESER, E. (ed.) HEAT-- H. Swan Ward, E. Hottowe, and S. McCarty of Historical Earthquake Theories. Konrad Lorenz the Makah Tribe; K. McCarty of Neah Bay; and Institute for Evolution and Cognition J. Younker of the Coquille Tribe and University Research, Vienna. http://www.univie.ac.at/ Wissenschaftstheorie/heat/heat- 1/heat 105 f.htm. of Oregon, for their encouragement, suggestions, BINA, A. 1758. Lettere dell'elettricismo. Bologna. and background information. Thanks also to h~: OESER, E. (ed.) HEAT--Historical Earth- J. Pickens and M. Skaret of the Fauntleroy Commu- quake Theories. Konrad Lorenz Institute for nity Association for pointing out the location of the Evolution and Cognition Research, Vienna. a'yahos spirit boulder. R. Ludwin's contribution to http : / / www.univie.ac.at /Wissenschaftstheorie / this work was initially supported by USGS grant heat/heat- 1/heat 105 f.htm. 1434-HQ-96-GR-03166, and subsequently by BLUKIS ONAT, A. 1987. The Duwamish No. 1 Site. USGS grants HQ98AG1937, 01HQAG0011, and 1986 Data Recover)'. BOAS, Inc., Seattle. 03HQGR0039. Gregory Smits' contribution bene- BOAS, F. 1894. 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