Question 1

True or false: Tokyo’s Imperial Palace was completely destroyed and never rebuilt after the earthquake.

Accepted Answer

False. The palace suffered damage but was rebuilt; it still stands today as the Emperor’s residence, though parts were modernized.

Question 2

True or false: The earthquake occurred on September 1, 1923, which is now designated as Disaster Prevention Day in Japan.

Accepted Answer

True. Japan commemorates the anniversary annually with drills and awareness campaigns to promote disaster preparedness.

Question 3

True or false: Most deaths in the earthquake resulted from collapsing buildings, not fires.

Accepted Answer

False. Fires caused by overturned charcoal stoves and gas leaks killed about 90% of the 105,000 victims, not building collapses.

Question 4

True or false: The earthquake’s magnitude was measured as 9.0 on the Richter scale, similar to the 2011 Tohoku quake.

Accepted Answer

False. Its magnitude was estimated at 7.9 to 8.2, far less than the 9.0 Tohoku quake, though it caused more urban devastation.

Question 5

True or false: The 1923 Great Kanto earthquake destroyed over 300,000 homes in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Accepted Answer

True. The quake and subsequent fires razed about 381,000 homes, making it one of the most destructive urban disasters in history.

Question 6

True or false: The earthquake triggered a tsunami that reached heights of over 30 meters in Sagami Bay.

Accepted Answer

True. A massive tsunami struck the coast, with waves up to 12 meters recorded, but 30-meter claims are exaggerated.

Question 7

True or false: After the quake, rumors led to the massacre of thousands of Korean residents by vigilante mobs.

Accepted Answer

True. False rumors that Koreans were poisoning wells sparked brutal attacks, resulting in an estimated 6,000 Korean deaths.

Question 8

True or false: The Great Kanto earthquake was caused by a rupture along the Japan Trench, far offshore.

Accepted Answer

False. It was actually a shallow intraplate quake within the Philippine Sea Plate, not a trench rupture, surprising given its intensity.

1923 Great Kanto earthquake Trivia Questions