ABSTRACT
Almost certainly the most important factor behind the disappointing results of the new system was the occurrence of the earthquake just as it was being established. The earthquake caused extensive damage in Tokyo and Yokohama, with roughly 140,000 killed or missing, over 44 per cent of the urban area of Tokyo destroyed by fire and some 73.8 per cent of all households affected (Ishizuka and Ishida 1988b: 19; Watanabe 1993: 219). Almost all the old, densely populated central areas of Tokyo that had been commoner areas during the Edo period were destroyed by fire. Of the old “low city” of Tokyo, almost nothing remained, while in the former samurai areas in the foothills to the west, the “high city”, few large fires were seen. As Seidensticker
public facilities and to finance the project, while benefiting from increases in the value of their land as a result of the project. The essence of the reconstruction project was thus a very large-scale use of the LR method. Of the 3,636 hectares of destroyed area in Tokyo, 3,041 hectares were divided into 65 project areas and redesigned and rebuilt in stages (Tokyo Municipal Office 1930: 73).
