翻刻
信州善光寺大地震焼失水押之次第
弘化四丁未年三月廿四日当山如来開帳中ばの事
ゆへ山門幷市中一流賑ひ夜分は万燈白日の如く
繁昌之所同夜亥の刻俄に大地震大雷の如く
寺院幷市中一度二揺潰し闇夜となり程なく数ヶ
所より出火大火となり家毎に泣さげぶこゑ天地に
ひゞき無難にて逃出たる者は父母妻子兄弟を
助んと艱苦をなし火を消さんとするものも無之
現代語訳
信州善光寺大地震・焼失・水押の次第
弘化四年丁未（ひのとひつじ）年三月二十四日、当山（善光寺）の如来開帳の最中であったことから、山門および市中は一様に賑わい、夜は万燈によって白昼のように明るく、たいへん繁盛していた。ところがその夜、亥の刻（午後十時頃）に突然大地震が起こり、まるで大雷のような轟音とともに、寺院および市中が一度に揺れ崩れ、辺りは闇夜となった。まもなく数か所から出火し、大火となり、家ごとに泣き叫ぶ声が天地に響き渡った。無事に逃げ出すことのできた者も、父母・妻子・兄弟を助けようと苦難を重ね、火を消そうとする者もなく（それどころではない状況であった）。
英語訳
Account of the Great Earthquake, Fires, and Flooding at Zenkoji Temple in Shinano Province
On the twenty-fourth day of the third month of the fourth year of Kōka (1847), the year of Hinoto-Hitsuji (Fire Sheep), the Zenkoji Temple was in the midst of its periodic opening of the sacred image (kaichō). As a result, the temple gate and the surrounding town were bustling with visitors, and at night the countless lanterns made it as bright as broad daylight, with the area in full festive prosperity. However, that same night, at the Hour of the Boar (around 10 o'clock at night), a great earthquake suddenly struck with a roar like rolling thunder, collapsing temples and the townspeople's dwellings all at once, plunging everything into darkness. Before long, fires broke out in several places and grew into a great conflagration. The sound of weeping and wailing from every household echoed through heaven and earth. Even those who managed to escape unharmed struggled desperately to save their parents, spouses, children, and siblings, and there was no one in a position to fight the fires.