Coming soon! The first major book from our new publishing venture Plum Rain Press (English translation): "Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa" by Dr. Chen Yao-chang 陳耀昌.
Nov. 9, 2023

S3-E33 - Tales of Tokyo and Taiwan

S3-E33 - Tales of Tokyo and Taiwan

This week we're looking at Tokyo, and telling a few tales that connect events in that major world city to people, places, and things in Taiwan.
ポッドキャストをお楽しみください!

The player is loading ...
The History of Taiwan - Formosa Files

Cover image: The Shibuya area of Tokyo, Japan, pictured in 1952 (or in the Japanese way of numbering years the 27th year of the Showa Emperor -- or Showa 27). This image was photographed in the west direction from the current Shibuya Scramble crossing. In the lower left corner, you can see the famous statue of Hachiko the loyal dog surrounded by benches. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Below: On the right is the cover image with the Hachiko statue circled in red, on the left is an image of Shibuya from 2018. Via Wikimedia Commons. 

In July 1946, Taiwanese (formerly Japanese-Formosan) black market sellers clashed with Tokyo-based mafia groups in what's known as the Shibuya Incident.  

The Great Kantō earthquake (関東大地震Kantō dai-jishin) struck at 11:58 am, on Saturday, September 1, 1923. After anywhere from a reported four to ten minutes of shaking, Tokyo was left in ruins. The quake is estimated to have killed between 4,000 and 10,000 people. Sadly, soon after the deaths caused by nature came another horror. As Wikipedia puts it, “With the explicit and implicit approval of parts of the Japanese government, the Japanese military, police, and vigilantes murdered an estimated 6,000 people: mainly ethnic Koreans, but also Chinese, Japanese people mistaken to be Korean, and Japanese communists, socialists, and anarchists.” Some of the killings were due to rumors of arson, but the post-quake chaos also provided right-wing nationalists a convenient opportunity to eliminate leaders of leftist or communist  movements. There are photos of the killings on Wiki, but we won't show them here. 

Below: A scene of desolation of Nihonbashi and Kanda (central Tokyo) seen from the Roof of Dai-ichi Sogo Building, Kyobashi after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Via the Osaka Mainichi newspaper - Earthquake Pictorial Edition.

Listen to the podcast to hear how this quake affected Taiwan. 

 

Do us a favor and rate/review the show! It really helps. Do it on Apple Podcasts or here on our website.

Write us with questions or ideas at formosafiles@gmail.com 

AND THE BIGGEST REQUEST: tell others about this free, not-for-profit resource about Taiwan.