英語訳
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The people with whom we had so recently conversed are now among the missing. The army's headquarters, the exchange, the higher elementary school, the ordinary elementary school, and all other institutions were swept away. The Takagi household (a family of three women, including Hisako) has also vanished without a trace. Only the night before last, the whole family had gathered, and while nibbling on beans with a grandmother of over eighty years of age, they had talked late into the night. Hisako had been cheerfully preparing for her imminent departure to Tokyo. It is feared that all of them have drowned. Early the following morning, I intend to make inquiries at likely places to learn what I can of the truth.
At the site where the Harai house once stood, the body of a man of about thirty years of age lies unattended, but the situation has not yet allowed for proper disposition. It is said that there are many dead inside collapsed buildings as well, but disposal has not been possible; it is thought that first one must ensure the safety of the living, and then attend to such matters.
It is said that there are more than four hundred missing persons. The actual death toll is said to be around two hundred, but this too is a very rough estimate, and cannot be stated with certainty.
We had not managed to obtain a proper meal since morning, and it was only in the evening that rice balls and pickled vegetables were distributed. (8:00 p.m., August 31st)
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**● Actual Conditions of the Tanba Flood Disaster**
We reproduce below a report of an on-site inspection written by a correspondent for a certain newspaper.
The conditions in Yamashiro Province will not be described here. Upon passing through the tunnel at the provincial border, large trees on the mountain roadside had been knocked down in great numbers with apparent ease by the storm, giving the first intimation of the extensive damage ahead. Nevertheless, until reaching Kameoka, the only signs of damage were the slight exposure of gravel on the road and the collapse of one bridge in Shinomura village—nothing particularly severe. Little did one expect to find the damage at Kameoka to be as follows:
**Table of Damage by Town and Village, Minami-Kuwata District**
| Village/Town | Completely Destroyed | Half Destroyed | Washed Away | Flooded Above Floor | Flooded Below Floor | Flooded Farmland (chō) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiyokawa-mura | 2 | — | 1 | 31 | 50 | 26 |
| Ōi-mura | — | 2 | 11 | 60 | 60 | 70 |
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| Marōdo-mura | 2 | — | — | 34 | 156 | Unknown |
| Asahi-mura | 1 | — | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Chitose-mura | 3 | — | — | Unknown | Unknown | 20 |
| Hozu-mura | 2 | — | — | 38 | 13 | 73 |
| Shino-mura | 8 | — | 3 | 13 | 204 | 36 |
| Honme-mura | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 |
| Yoshikawa-mura | 11 | — | 1 | 15 | 35 | 50 |
| Miyamae-mura | — | — | — | — | — | 20 |
| Nishi-Betsuin-mura | 3 | — | 3 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Kawarabayashi-mura | — | — | — | 40 | 90 | 103 |
| Kameoka-chō | 2 | — | — | 60 | 100 | 100 |
Locations of embankment breaches: ten points along the Ōigawa river in Chiyokawa-mura, totaling approximately 202 *ken* in length; one point in Ōi-mura, 30 *ken*; two points in Marōdo-mura, 20 *ken*; one point in Kawarabayashi-mura, 65 *ken*. Other small stream breaches total 50 locations with a combined length of approximately 415 *ken*.
Bridges washed away: five in Shinomura, one in Yoshikawa-mura. One telegraph pole collapsed in Shinomura. Five Japanese boats were swept away in Shinomura. Road collapses and building damage were also extensive.
Given that the affected areas are inherently distant from one another and communications are poor, and that flooding has completely severed transportation in many areas, the full picture remains difficult to ascertain, but the outline is roughly as described above.
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**Conditions in Kameoka and Its Vicinity**
On the night of the storm, the eastern part of Kameoka-chō began to flood around 11:00 p.m. on August 30th. The water continued to rise thereafter, and by the early hours of the following dawn, the Ōigawa began to overflow its banks, while floodwater also entered from the locations of downstream embankment breaches. The lowlands were thus progressively inundated, the area between the back of the town and the embankment becoming a vast sheet of water, presenting the appearance of a great inland lake. It is reported that five or six head of cattle were seen floating downstream during the night. The sight of a fresh coffin also floating by was reported. One cannot help but feel a deep heartache thinking of the many souls that must now be wandering through the cosmos. Of the particularly severely flooded areas nearby, the entire hamlet of Shōrinjima in Kawarabayashi-mura was likely completely inundated. Furthermore, the Kyoto Matsuyoshi branch shop at the Hozu River boat landing in Shinomura, along with two other buildings, was swept away without leaving so much as a single paper screen (*shōji*) standing.
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**Two Deaths**
One was a man named Konokita Matarō (age 35) of Imanai hamlet in Chiyokawa-mura, who drowned while attempting to collect lumber floating through inundated fields—one might say he brought it upon himself. The other was a blind masseur named Yamauchi Okinosuke
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(age 32) of Kasugabe hamlet in Sogabe-mura—a pitiful case—who was blown off his feet by the wind and rain on his way home, struck severely against a nearby stone, suffering blunt force trauma from the ribs to the back, and died on the spot.
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Proceeding past Kameoka-chō into Funai District, the damage in the town section of Yagi Village was seen to be even more severe.
The waterline marks on the walls of buildings on both sides of the road were clearly at least six *shaku* (approximately 1.8 meters) high. By this time the water had entirely receded, and the residents were all laying out every piece of furniture in the street to dry. Since many of the residents were merchants, their goods were also prodigious in number, leaving only a gap of about three *shaku* (approximately 90 centimeters) in the center of the road, everything else being covered with articles set out to dry. Floorboards had all been pried up and the areas beneath the floors were being cleaned. The chaotic scene on the highway and the state of utter exhaustion and frantic activity among the residents presented a pitiful spectacle.
This town, built on both sides of the Ōigawa, is known as the hamlet of Yagi in Yagi Village, and all one hundred and seventy-two households suffered flood damage. In one household, upon inquiring about the events of that night, the resident explained that, since the area is always among the first to suffer when flooding occurs, the household had anticipated such a situation and constructed a raised platform above the floor level, placing all household goods upon it, with all family members retreating to the upper floor. But when they attempted to come down, the water was already above even the raised platform, and nothing could be done. Every household had all their furniture completely inundated.
This water had all accumulated from downstream. At first, there was the danger that the embankment slightly upstream might breach, and the people were fighting desperately to prevent it. In the meantime, the embankment on the opposite side, at Kitase in Tomimoto Village, breached in three locations (with bamboo thicket connecting the sections, the embankment existing only at these three points), the combined length of the breaches totaling over 340 *ken*, and the muddy floodwater rushed into Tomimoto Village through the breach. As a result, the embankment on the Yagi side was spared. At the time, the people of Yagi clapped their hands with joy, which naturally provoked great anger among the people of Tomimoto. Such is human nature in such circumstances—understandably so.
As a result, the water receded fairly quickly, and relatively few items were actually swept away. No houses were lost in the flood, only household goods to a moderate degree. Only a small
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house at the edge of town collapsed. When I saw it, it had fallen and remained as it lay, with the tiled roof having fallen on top of the collapsed pillars and walls. The pillars of the house had likely been rotted.
The most pitiable single incident at the time was the drowning of horses belonging to the Sandan Transport Horse Carriage Company, which had been stabled there. The stable housed a total of twelve horses, but the groom, being unfamiliar with local conditions, upon hearing the flood warning, first busied himself moving his own belongings. By the time he had finished, the water level had risen dramatically. He managed to get the horses out of the stable, but six of them were ultimately swept away by the current and drowned, their cries echoing as they perished. The details of the damage are as follows:
> **Total damaged farmland: 61 chō, 2 tan, 4 se, 22 bu**
> - Upland fields: 1 chō 5 tan
> - Paddy fields: 59 chō 7 tan 4 se 22 bu
>
> Of the paddy fields:
> - 17 chō 09 se 26 bu — expected total loss
> - 8 chō 9 tan 1 se 2 bu — expected 50% harvest
> - 33 chō 7 tan 3 se 24 bu — expected 80% harvest
>
> All upland fields: expected total loss
>
> Flooded buildings: 72 households
> Buildings collapsed: 3 structures (2 storehouses, 1 residential)
> Horses drowned: 6
> Pleasure boats lost: 1
> The Ōi Bridge (80 *ken*) connecting Yagi to Tomimoto Village on the opposite bank: washed away
During the flooding, cooking was impossible, so the village office provided cooked rice to all households. Fortunately, the water receded quickly, and at present rice is being distributed to twenty-seven households in need. The local elementary school was closed for three days as a result.
Departing from the area again and walking for a time along the top of the Ōigawa embankment, one saw the trees below the embankment still holding the debris carried by the flood, standing half-toppled or uprooted. The marks where the flood had gnawed at the roots of the bamboo thicket were visible, and the muddy water still showed a reddish-brown color. Looking upon this scene, one could not help but shudder, thinking: was it this terrible force that set in motion this great tragedy?