翻刻
弘化丁未夏四月十三日信州犀川崩激六郡漂蕩之圖
ことし春三月廿四日《割書：癸卯｜立夏》夜亥の上刻《割書：是時星隕ㇽ事如雨或云｜今日西北二白虹ノ如キヲ見ㇳ》わがしなのゝ地大にふるい山くづれて谷を埋（うづ）ミ川かたに
きて陸をひきさりそが中にも殊に稀代の大変と聞へしは更級郡《割書：姨棄山｜西三里余》平林むらなる虚空蔵（こくうそう）山《割書：又岩倉｜山トモ》といへる
高ねいたゞき両端に崩れ《割書：一方高丗余丁長廿余丁｜岩倉孫瀬ノ二村水中二堕陥ㇽ》なたゝる犀（さい）川をへだてゝ水内郡ミぬち村にわたり《割書：久目路ノ曲橋｜北一里余下》
岩（がん）石 巨（こ）木さながら堤防（つゝみ）をなし《割書：又一方高十五丁余長廿余丁｜藤倉古宿ノ二村同地中二圧ス》さばかりの大河こゝに於て水一 滴（てき）もらす事なく下流
いくばくの船渡（せんと）《割書：長井村山小市｜丹波島以下》一時水落舟くだけて人みな徒行（かちわたり）して逃（のが）れあへて踵（くびす）をぬらす事なく《割書：是辺急流二メ棹サス事｜難シト故二大縄ヲ曳舟ヲヤル》
《割書：或云コノ時小市ノワタリ二舟を出ス者アリ操漕ステ二水央二至ントス忽焉トメ山フルヒ川ワキ巨縄ヒトシクキレ大船馬舟ヲ云共にクダケテ瀬脇ノ丘にトブ川上一里｜頓二メ水カレ地サケテ一箇ノ山河中二ワキ出ソコバクノ人馬アル処ヲシラズ只舟師匠ノヒトリ經ヲトリ奉二メハルカノ山上二免ㇽ有ㇳ方二コレ山川位ヲ易ㇽト可謂カ》又 虫倉岳（むしくらたけ）
といへる大山 半腹左右（なからさう）にくづれ《割書：伊折藤沢地京原｜等ノ数村ヲ埋ム》戸尻（どじり）川の流ふさがる《割書：依之五十里一ノ瀬中条｜等ノ舎ヲ浸シ田ヲ没ス》をなじく山 陰澣花（かげすゝはな）川の水 源（まみ）またこと〴〵く
崩れともに水路通ずる事なし其都餘 鹿谷猿倉（かやさるくら）堺川 聖（ひじり）浅川 八蛇（やじや）鳥居川等すべて犀 千隈（ちくま）ながれに添（そ）へ西北
の地くづれ裂（さけ）ことに甚く《割書：山林田園高低変替不記｜或る土砂水火ヲ涌発ス》流水井泉これがために涸（か）る《割書：又温泉二出没の中二｜温却テ冷ㇳ変ㇽ有》舎屋（いへや）たふれ覆（くつがへ）り《割書：瓦屋最甚シㇳ｜萱舎モ亦不一二行目》
焔（ほのほ）火忽に発り老少相かへりみるにいとまなく壮者といへども壓傷（おされきづつくもの）なき事あたはず適（たま〳〵）まぬがるゝもわづかに一身を
以て避（さけ）るのみ《割書：在階上者｜多不及死》就中善光寺《割書：二日三夜ヲ｜餘焔消ス》新町《割書：水内山中ノ市会ナリ翌日午時二至テモ火勢倍熾ナリ時二｜犀川ノ洪水サカシマ二湛上リ水火互二ゲキシ共二市中ヲ没ス》上はいなり山に至り下飯山に及び延
焼する事連日にして鎮（しづま）る◯《割書：当是時善光寺如来有開扉之大会而諸国群参頗如雲威儀倍ス毎例一時震動発火及四境殊二本堂楼門鐘楼｜経蔵等僅無異変別当大勧進雖有小破不及顛仆倖二脱ㇽ火災其餘四十八院堂塔坊舎一瞬而悉付す鳥有二》
或云治承二戊戌三月 廿四日善光寺草創の後初回禄
応永丗四年丁未又炎上すと二件今災と支干を同くす
奇事と云へし
同廿八日《割書：丁｜未》暁すゝ花川 祖山黒波（そやまくらなみ）辺の滞水はしめて通す 於是丹波島一小舟ヲ用ユト
同廿九日《割書：戌｜申》午刻又大震ひ諸方多く潰（つへゆ）る《割書：北越高田及今町殊二甚シ廿四日ノ災二超ㇽㇳ云｜四月廿九日同今町尽ク焼込ス》
四月七日《割書：丙｜辰》己刻大風にはかに発し雹降る《割書：是時西南ノ天如摩墨大雨至夜倍不正｜翌八日戸隠山滂沱と洗ガ如ㇳ云》
同十日《割書：巳｜未》自巳至未刻暴風大風木をぬく《割書：今日人ミナ以為犀川溢レ出ㇳ資財ヲ相携テ走ㇽ｜同時諸国共二大風尾濃ノ間舎屋稍傾ㇳ云》
午刻戸尻川くづれ通す《割書：是川安曇郡二出テ大安寺二メ犀川二入時二犀干川ナレトモ尋常ノ洪水二減セズ小市｜辺ノ堤防タメニ破ㇽ先是命有河内ノ粟ヲ河東二徒シ老幼ヲ東山二仮居チサシム》
こゝに犀川の流れ停滞（とゞまる事）すでに月をこへ日 二旬（はつか）に及び沿流（ながれにそう）の村落（むら〳〵）水 底（そこ）に沈（しつ）み
上は筑摩安曇を浸凌（ひた）し《割書：水内更級二郡ヲ貫キ｜生野生坂宇留加辺》凡八九里その間山 崛曲（つらなり）し川 盤（めくり）渦し
幅（はゞ）員廣狭又《割書：或る三十余丁｜モシクハ十余丁》測（はか）るべからす《割書：或云三月下旬岩倉ノ隕隄一日盈事七八尺｜四月上旬二至りヤゝ広ク一昼夜セシ二三尺二不過ㇳ》しかるに去ㇽ七日以来
暴風霖雨（かぜあらびながあめ）し或るは溢或は洩（もれ）て第二の隕隄（つゝみ）水数丈を湛（たゝ）ふ《割書：同十二日水涯ノ高｜事ナラ二丈アリト》
同十三日《割書：壬｜戌》午刻雨到来晴申下刻西南の山鳴動す《割書：コレ岩倉第一ノ隄クツㇾ激浪滔々ㇳメ｜溢レ落ㇽ声遠ク松代須坂中野二達ス》
《割書：是時僕昌言海津西条山二在テ水声ヲキク事良久ク｜アタカモ耳ヲ衝二似タリ須叟二メ烽西ノ方真神山上二ナル》俄にみる雲霞（うんむ）谷を出て東北にはしるを《割書：コレ水｜烟ナリ》
時に療風いさこを尤し潰波（なみ）雨を降（くだ）す魁（さき）水のおとつるさま百万の奔馬（あれこま）
を原野に驅（かる）がことく巨濤（おほなみ）のみなぎる天地を漂（たゞよは）す歟と疑ふ山岳ために
沸騰（わきあからんと）す《割書：是時真神山下｜水嵩六丈六尺四寸》その水勢の迅速（すみやか）なる一道の水路南に向ひ小市小松原
を陥（をとしい）れ今里今井を経て御幣（をんべい）川に至り《割書：用水上堰｜行程三里》はじめて千曲川に会す
又一道四屋中嶋をは湯過（とうか）し南北原村《割書：千本松｜ノ際》を過 会（あひ）小森《割書：二軒｜家》にして
ともにちくまに入る日既に西山に没し又一道北川原梅津鍛治上
氷鉋を浸し丹波島嶋を南へ廻り兩大塚小嶋田を貫き八幡原
に推（をし）出す於是みな梅津に湊（あつま）ると《割書：時に千曲ノ水嵩ム事二丈余｜水上横田篠井辺二沂ㇽ》夜災の初
にして東西五七里南北 越路（こしち）に及び《割書：翌十四日申刻北越新潟二｜魁水ハシメテ達スㇳ凡五十里》高低となく
水ならぬ処なし《割書：丑刻二至り水勢ヤウヤク涸レ｜暁天二悉乾キ三四ノ大川ㇳナル》同十四日《割書：葵卯｜晴》迥（はるか）に奥の
郡《割書：陰徳沖｜木島平》を望（のぞむ）に渺茫（べうほう）として長江の際（かきり）なきに似たり
数日の後水ひき土かはき常のことし
同十七日《割書：丙｜申》未刻雷鳴 驟（にはか）に至暴風屋を破る《割書：佐久郡｜及甲州》
《割書：大雹蔽地稼苗｜悉枯農業廃業》同廿八日《割書：丁｜丑》日輪夜のことく光畔なし
五月廿日《割書：戊｜戌》鹿谷川の湛水くづれ通す
六月廿日《割書：丁｜未》雷公数処覆《割書：寺舎ヲヤキ｜人馬ヲソコナウ》
七月朔《割書：戌｜寅》二日三日昼夜しば〳〵震ふ
同十九日《割書：丙｜申》夜丑下刻諸方大震動人みな
庭上に仮いす《割書：暁澣花川ノ水源瀬戸川浦辺ノ｜湛水クツㇾ善光寺辺人家タメニ流ㇽ》
けふ十月の末その餘波（なこり）《割書：或驟二震ヒ｜或鳴動ヲ致二》猶しば〳〵也
凡四大種の中水火風の三は常に害をなす事
あれど大地に至ては殊なる事なしと覚へしに
恐てもヲ売るべきは唯 地震（ない）也と長明頃
の方丈記に書給ひしも実也ける
現代語訳
## 弘化丁未年（1847年）夏四月十三日、信州犀川氾濫・六郡漂蕩之図
今年春三月二十四日（癸卯、立夏）の夜、亥の上刻（※この時、流星が雨のように降ったという。またある人は、今日西北に白い虹のようなものが見えたと言う）、わが信濃の地が大いに揺れ、山が崩れて谷を埋め、川の形が変わって陸地が引き裂かれた。その中でも特に稀代の大変として聞こえたのは、更級郡（姨捨山の西三里余り）の平林村にある虚空蔵山（岩倉山とも呼ぶ）という高い峰が、両端から崩れ落ち（一方は高さ三十余丁・長さ二十余丁で、岩倉・孫瀬の二村が水中に陥没した）、悠然と流れる犀川をへだてて水内郡みぬち村にまで達し（久目路の曲橋の北一里余り下流）、岩石・巨木がそのまま堤防となり（また一方は高さ十五丁余り・長さ二十余丁で、藤倉・古宿の二村が地中に圧し潰された）、あれほど大きな川がここにおいて水を一滴も漏らさなくなり、下流のいくつもの渡し場（長井村・山小市・丹波島以下）は一時に水が落ちて舟が砕け、人々はみな徒歩で渡って逃れ、かかとを濡らすこともなかった（この辺りは急流のため棹を差すことが難しく、大縄を引いて舟を操っていた）。
ある話では、この時小市の渡しに舟を出す者があり、漕ぎ出して川の中央に差し掛かろうとした瞬間、突然山が揺れ川が湧き立ち、大縄が一斉に切れ、大船も馬舟もともに砕けて瀬脇の丘へ飛ばされた。川上一里あまりが急に水涸れ、地が裂けてひとつの山が川中に湧き出し、そこにいた人馬の行方が分からなくなった。ただ舟の師匠一人だけが経を取り奉り、遥か山上に免れることができたという。まさに山川が位置を変えたと言うべきであろうか。
また、虫倉岳という大山が中腹の左右から崩れ（伊折・藤沢地・京原等の数村を埋め）、戸尻川の流れが塞がった（これにより五十里・一ノ瀬・中条等の集落が水に浸かり、田畑が没した）。同じく山陰の澣花川の水源もことごとく崩れ、ともに水路が通じなくなった。そのほかに鹿谷・猿倉・堺川・聖・浅川・八蛇・鳥居川などすべて犀川・千曲川の流れに沿い、西北の地が崩れ裂けること特に甚だしく（山林田園の高低が変わり果て、ある所では土砂・水・火が湧き出した）、流水・井泉はこのためにことごとく涸れ（また温泉が出没するうち、温かいものがかえって冷水に変わるものもあった）、家屋が倒れ覆り（瓦屋根の建物が最もひどく、茅葺きの建物もまた無事とは言えなかった）、炎が忽ちに燃え上がり、老若互いに顧みる暇もなく、壮健な者といえども圧し潰され傷つくことを免れなかった。たまたま逃れることができた者もわずかに一身を以て避けるのみであった（階上にいた者は多く死を免れた）。就中、善光寺（二日三夜をかけて余炎が消えた）・新町（水内山中の市場で、翌日の午の刻になっても火勢はますます盛んであった。この時、犀川の洪水が逆流してたまり、水と火が互いに激しく争い、ともに市中を没した）は上は飯縄山に至り、下は飯山に及び、延焼すること連日にして鎮まった。
◯この時、善光寺如来には御開帳の大法会があり、諸国から雲霞のごとく参詣者が集まり、威儀はいつにも増して盛んであった。突如として震動が起こり火災が発生し、四方に及んで特に本堂・楼門・鐘楼・経蔵等には僅かに異変がなく、別当大勧進は小破はあったものの倒壊には至らず、幸いに火災を免れた。その余の四十八院・堂塔・坊舎は一瞬にしてことごとく灰燼に帰した。
ある記録によれば、治承二年（1178年）戊戌の三月二十四日、善光寺草創以来初めての火災があり、
応永三十四年（1427年）丁未にまた炎上したという。この二件と今回の災害は干支を同じくしており、
奇事というべきである。
同二十八日（丁未）暁、澣花川・祖山黒波辺の滞水がはじめて通じた。これにより丹波島では小舟一艘を使用した。
同二十九日（戌申）午刻にまた大震があり、諸方の多くが潰れた（北越高田および今町が特に甚だしく、二十四日の災害を超えるという。四月二十九日に今町は全焼した）。
四月七日（丙辰）巳の刻、大風が突然発し雹が降った（この時、西南の空が墨を磨ったように暗くなり、大雨が降り夜になってもますます激しかった。翌八日には戸隠山にたたきつけるような大雨があったという）。
同十日（巳未）巳の刻から未の刻にかけて暴風・大風が吹き木をなぎ倒した（今日は人々がみな犀川が溢れ出ると思い、財物を携えて逃げ走った。同時に諸国でも大風があり、尾張・美濃の間では家屋がやや傾いたという）。午の刻に戸尻川の崩れが通じた（この川は安曇郡に発し大安寺を経て犀川に入る。この時、犀川は干上がっていたが通常の洪水に劣らない水量となり、小市辺の堤防がこのために破れた。これより先、命令があって河内の粟を河東に移し、老人・子供を東山に仮住まいさせていた）。
ここに犀川の流れが停滞すること既に一月を超え、二旬（二十日）に及び、流れに沿う村々は水底に沈み、上は筑摩・安曇を浸し（水内・更級の二郡を貫いて、生野・生坂・宇留加辺まで）、凡そ八、九里の間、山が連なり川が渦巻き、幅の広狭もまた（ある所は三十余丁、あるいは十余丁）測ることができなかった（ある記録では、三月下旬の岩倉の堰は一日に七、八尺満ちていたが、四月上旬になってやや広がり、一昼夜に二、三尺に過ぎなかったという）。しかるに去る七日以来、暴風と長雨が続き、ある所では溢れ、ある所では漏れて、第二の堰の水は数丈を湛えた（同十二日には水際の高さが二丈あったという）。
同十三日（壬戌）午刻に雨が来て晴れ、申の下刻に西南の山が鳴動した（これは岩倉第一の堰が崩れ、激浪が滔々として溢れ落ちる声が遠く松代・須坂・中野に達した）。
（この時、私・昌言は海津西条山にいて水の声を聞くことしばらくして、まるで耳を衝くように似ていた。少しすると烽火が西の方、真神山の上に上がった）。にわかに見れば、雲霞が谷を出て東北へ走るのが見えた（これは水煙である）。
時に疾風が砂礫を巻き上げ、潰波が雨を降らせた。先行する水の訪れるさまは、百万の荒馬を原野に駆るがごとく、巨大な波浪が満ち溢れ天地を漂わせるかと疑われるほどであった。山岳がそのためにわき立つようであった（この時、真神山下の水嵩は六丈六尺四寸）。その水勢の迅速なるは、一道の水路が南に向かい小市・小松原を陥れ、今里・今井を経て御幣川に至り（用水上堰、行程三里）、はじめて千曲川に合流した。また一道は四屋・中島を流し過ぎ、南北原村（千本松の際）を過ぎて小森（二軒家）においてともに千曲川に入った。日はすでに西山に没し、また一道は北川原・梅津・鍛治・上氷鉋を浸し、丹波島を南へ廻り、両大塚・小嶋田を貫いて八幡原に押し出した。ここではみな梅津に集まった（この時、千曲川の水嵩は二丈余り増し、水上・横田・篠井辺に及んだ）。夜、災害の始まりから東西五、七里、南北は越路に及び（翌十四日の申刻に北越新潟に先行水がはじめて達したという。凡そ五十里）、高低となく水のない所はなかった（丑の刻に至り水勢はようやく涸れ、夜明けにはすべて乾いて三、四本の大川となった）。同十四日（癸卯、晴）遥かに奥の郡（陰徳沖・木島平）を望むに、渺茫として長江の涯てなきに似ていた。
数日の後、水が引き土が乾き元のとおりとなった。
同十七日（丙申）未の刻、雷鳴がにわかに至り暴風が屋根を破った（佐久郡および甲州。大きな雹が地を覆い、稲苗がことごとく枯れ農業が廃業となった）。
同二十八日（丁丑）日輪が夜のように暗く、光の縁なし。
五月二十日（戊戌）鹿谷川の滞水が崩れて通じた。
六月二十日（丁未）雷が数か所を覆い（寺舎を焼き、人馬を傷つけた）。
七月朔（戌寅）二日・三日、昼夜しばしば震えた。
同十九日（丙申）夜、丑の下刻に諸方が大震動し、人々はみな庭上に仮寝した（暁に澣花川の水源・瀬戸川浦辺の滞水が崩れ、善光寺辺の人家がそのために流された）。
今日、十月の末になっても、その余波（ある時は突然震え、ある時は鳴動する）がなお頻繁である。
おおよそ四大種（地・水・火・風）の中で、水・火・風の三つは常に害をなすことがあるが、大地にいたってはことなることなしと思われていたのに、恐ろしくもおそろしいのはただ地震だけであると、長明は昔の『方丈記』に書かれたが、まことそのとおりであった。
英語訳
## Map of the Flooding of Six Districts by the Sai River in the Hinoto-Hitsuji Year of the Kōka Era (1847), Summer, Fourth Month, Thirteenth Day
On the night of the twenty-fourth day of the third month of this year (Kichibō, Start of Summer) during the upper period of the Hour of the Pig [around 9–10 PM] (Note: at this time, shooting stars fell like rain; some say that earlier that day a white rainbow-like object was seen in the northwest), the earth of our province of Shinano shook violently. Mountains collapsed and filled valleys, rivers changed course and split the land. Among all the disasters, the one heard of as a particularly rare and great calamity was in Sarashina District (three-plus ri west of Obasuteyama), in the village of Hirabayashi: a high peak called Mt. Kokuzo (also known as Mt. Iwakura) collapsed on both ends (one side was over 30 chō high and 20 chō long, and the two villages of Iwakura and Magose fell into the water), crossing over the majestically flowing Sai River and reaching Minuchi Village in Minochi District (north of Kumejino-Magahashi bridge, over one ri downstream). Rocks and giant trees formed natural embankments (another side was over 15 chō high and 20 chō long, crushing the two villages of Fujikura and Furujuku into the ground), and that great river ceased to leak even a single drop of water. Downstream ferry crossings (Nagaimura, Yamakoichi, Tanbajima, and others below) suddenly lost their water, boats shattered, and people all escaped on foot without even wetting their heels (in this area, because the current was too swift to use poles, large ropes were used to pull boats).
According to one account, at this time someone launched a boat at the Koichi crossing and began rowing toward the middle of the river when suddenly the mountain shook and the river churned; the great ropes all snapped at once, and both the large boats and horse-boats shattered and were hurled to a hill beside the rapids. Within one ri upstream, the water suddenly dried up, the ground split, and a mountain welled up in the middle of the river. The fate of the people and horses there became unknown. Only the master boatman, clutching his sutra, managed to escape to a distant mountaintop. One might say this was truly a case of mountains and rivers exchanging their positions.
Also, a great mountain called Mt. Mushikura collapsed on both sides of its mid-slopes (burying several villages including Iori, Fujisawachi, and Kyohara), blocking the flow of the Tojiri River (consequently submerging the settlements of Iijiri, Ichinose, Nakajō, and others, and drowning the fields). Similarly, the headwaters of the Kanuka River on the mountain's shaded side were also completely blocked, leaving no water passage. Furthermore, the rivers Kayatani, Sarukura, Sakaigawa, Hijiri, Asakawa, Yajya, and Toriigatawa—all along the Sai and Chikuma rivers—saw the land to the northwest crack and collapse with particular severity (mountains, forests, and fields changed in elevation, and in some places mud, water, and fire erupted). Springs and wells ran dry because of this (and at hot springs, amidst the comings and goings, some springs that were hot changed to cold water). Houses toppled and overturned (tiled-roof buildings suffered the most; thatched-roof buildings were also not spared), and flames suddenly broke out. The old and young had no time to look after one another, and even the robust could not avoid being crushed and injured. Those who happened to escape did so with only their bare lives (those who were on upper floors were mostly saved from death).
Above all, Zenkoji Temple (the remaining flames took two days and three nights to extinguish) and Shimmachi (a market town in the Minochi mountains; even at the Hour of the Horse the following day the fire grew stronger; at this time the floodwaters of the Sai River surged backward, and water and fire fought each other, together submerging the town)—from Iizuna Mountain above to Iiyama below—burned for several consecutive days before being brought under control.
◯At this time, there was a grand ceremony for the public display of the Zenkoji Nyorai image, and pilgrims from across the country gathered like clouds, with solemnity surpassing the usual. Suddenly the earthquake struck and fire broke out, spreading to all four directions. Remarkably, the Main Hall, Tower Gate, Bell Tower, and Sutra Repository suffered almost no damage; the head administrator's Daikanjinji suffered only minor damage and did not collapse, fortunately escaping the fire. But the remaining forty-eight sub-temples, halls, pagodas, and lodgings were all reduced to ashes in an instant.
According to records, on the twenty-fourth day of the third month in the second year of Jishō
(1178, Tsuchinoe-Inu), Zenkoji suffered its first fire since its founding.
In the thirty-fourth year of Ōei (1427, Hinoto-Hitsuji), it burned again.
Both of those disasters occurred in years sharing the same cyclical signs as today's,
which may be called a curious matter.
On the twenty-eighth day of the same month (Hinoto-Hitsuji), at dawn, the backed-up water near Kanuka River and Soyama-Kuronami began flowing for the first time. Thereupon, one small boat was put to use at Tanbajima.
On the twenty-ninth day of the same month (Tsuchinoe-Saru), at the Hour of the Horse, there was another great earthquake, and many places in various directions were destroyed (Northern Echigo's Takada and Imamachi were particularly severe, said to surpass the disaster of the twenty-fourth; on the twenty-ninth of the fourth month, Imamachi burned completely).
On the seventh day of the fourth month (Hinoe-Tatsu), at the Hour of the Snake, a great wind suddenly arose and hail fell (at this time the sky to the southwest darkened as if rubbed with ink, heavy rain fell, and worsened further at night; on the following eighth day, it was said that Togakushi Mountain was washed as if by torrential rain).
On the tenth day of the same month (Tsuchinoto-Hitsuji), from the Hour of the Snake to the Hour of the Ram, violent winds arose and uprooted trees (that day, people all believed the Sai River would overflow and fled carrying their belongings; simultaneously great winds occurred across various provinces, and in the region between Owari and Mino, buildings were said to have partially tilted). At the Hour of the Horse, the Tojiri River's blockage broke through (this river originates in Azumi District and enters the Sai River at Daianji Temple; at the time, though the Sai River was dry, the flow was no less than an ordinary flood, and the embankments near Koichi were therefore broken. Before this, orders had been given to move the millet of Kawachi to the east bank and have the elderly and young temporarily reside in the eastern mountains).
Here the Sai River's flow had been stagnant for more than a month and up to twenty days, during which villages along the river sank to the bottom of the water. Upstream it flooded Chikuma and Azumi Districts (piercing through Minochi and Sarashina Districts, near Shōno, Ikazaka, and Uruka), covering approximately eight to nine ri. Within that distance, mountains ranged in succession and the river swirled in eddies; the width—sometimes over 30 chō, sometimes over 10 chō—could not be measured (some say that in late the third month, the Iwakura dam rose seven to eight shaku per day; by early the fourth month, as it gradually widened, it rose only two to three shaku per day and night). Then, since the seventh of this month, violent winds and prolonged rains had continued; the water overflowed at some points and leaked at others, and the second dam held water several jō deep (on the twelfth of the same month, the height of the water's edge was said to be two jō).
On the thirteenth day of the same month (Mizunoe-Inu), rain arrived at the Hour of the Horse and then cleared; at the lower part of the Hour of the Monkey, the mountains to the southwest rumbled (the first dam at Iwakura collapsed, and the sound of billowing waves rolling over and crashing down reached as far as Matsushiro, Suzaka, and Nakano).
(At this time, I—Shōgen—was on Kaidu Saijōzan and heard the sound of the water for quite some time; it was exactly as if it struck one's ears. Shortly thereafter, a signal fire appeared on Mt. Makamiyama to the west.)
Suddenly I saw clouds and mist pouring out of the valley and rushing northeast (this was water spray). At that moment, a fierce wind whipped up grit and sand, and the collapsing waves poured down like rain. The arrival of the advance water was like driving a million wild horses across a plain; the enormous waves surging overflowed until one wondered whether they would send heaven and earth adrift. Mountains seemed to seethe and boil because of it (at that time, the water depth below Mt. Makamiyama was six jō, six shaku, and four sun). The swiftness of the water's momentum: one channel headed south and overwhelmed Koichi and Komatsubara, passed through Imazato and Imai, and reached the Onbei River (passing via the irrigation upper weir, a distance of three ri), finally joining the Chikuma River. Another channel swept through Yotsuya and Nakashima, passed the villages of Sōhokubara (near Senbonmatsu), and at Komori (a hamlet of two houses) they all entered the Chikuma. The sun had already set behind the western mountains. Yet another channel flooded Kitagawara, Umezu, Kaji, and Kami-Hyōtai, swung south around Tanbajima, pierced through Ryōōtsuka and Ojimada, and pushed out onto Hachimanbara. There, all flows converged at Umezu (at that time the Chikuma River rose more than two jō in water level, reaching as far as Mizukami, Yokota, and Shinoi). Night came, and from the start of the disaster, the water extended five to seven ri east to west and reached as far as the Koshi Road to the north and south (on the following fourteenth day at the Hour of the Monkey, the advance water first reached Niigata in Northern Echigo—roughly fifty ri away). There was no place, high or low, without water (by the Hour of the Ox, the water momentum gradually receded, and by dawn it had all dried into three or four large rivers). On the fourteenth day of the same month (Mizunoto-U, clear), looking far into the northern districts (Intoku-oki, Kijimadaira), it appeared vast and boundless like an endless great river.
After several days, the water receded, the ground dried, and all returned to normal.
On the seventeenth day of the same month (Hinoe-Saru), at the Hour of the Ram, thunder suddenly arrived and a violent storm broke roofs (in Saku District and Kai Province; large hail covered the ground, rice seedlings all withered, and agricultural work was abandoned).
On the twenty-eighth day of the same month (Hinoto-Ushi), the sun was dark as night with no luminous halo.
On the twentieth day of the fifth month (Tsuchinoe-Inu), the backed-up water of the Kayatani River broke through and flowed out.
On the twentieth day of the sixth month (Hinoto-Hitsuji), thunder struck several places (burning temple buildings and injuring people and horses).
On the first day of the seventh month (Tsuchinoe-Tora), the second and third days saw repeated tremors day and night.
On the nineteenth day of the same month (Hinoe-Saru), at the lower part of the Hour of the Ox at night, a great tremor shook all directions, and people all made temporary beds in their gardens (at dawn, the backed-up water of the headwaters of the Kanuka River and the Setogawa-ura area broke through, sweeping away houses near Zenkoji).
Now, at the end of the tenth month, the aftereffects (sometimes sudden tremors, sometimes rumblings) are still frequent.
Among the four great elements (earth, water, fire, and wind), water, fire, and wind commonly cause harm, but it had seemed that the great earth was somehow special and exempt from this—and yet what is to be feared above all else is only the earthquake (nai), as Chōmei wrote long ago in his Hōjōki (An Account of My Hut), and indeed his words proved true.