Great Fire of Angen

Great Fire of Angen

Native name	安元の大火
Date	1177
Time	10:00pm (jst)
Location	Heian palace, Heian-kyō
Coordinates	Near 35°0′49″N 135°44′32″E
Outcome	Destruction of a third of the capital, including the Great Imperial Audience Hall, courtier mansions, and the front gate of the palace.

The Great Fire of Angen was a fire that swept through Heian-kyō (now Kyoto) in 1177, destroying around a third of the capital. It was recorded by Fujiwara no Kanezane.

Outbreak

The fire broke out at 10:00 pm. At 8:00 pm, Fujiwara no Kanezane finished a ritual of mourning, recording also that a "princess also ended her mourning in this evening." (The text never specifies what princess).[1]

He noted the clear weather. Then he wrote "Around 8 p.m. I performed the ritual to end the mourning on the riverbed. The princess also ended her mourning in this evening. Chamberlain to the princess [Kanezane's son Yoshimichi] ended the mourning in front of her residence." He continued to write, finally noting the fire by saying, "Around 10 p.m., a fire broke out in the northern direction. I heard that the fire started at Higuchi-Tominokoji." At the time, Kanezane was ill and remained at home. Due to this, he had to have a servant assess the situation.[1]

As the fire began to worsen, the Emperor and Empress were moved to Fujiwara no Kunitsuna's home.[1]

As the fire swept through Heian-kyō, it reached the palace. Here, it burnt the enthronement hall.[2] The great hall was never rebuilt though, and every Muromachi period emperor was not enthroned in Heian-kyō.[3][4][5]

Damages

The damages were as follows:[1][6][7][8]

The Imperial Court

• Daigokuden [ja]
• Department of Divinities
• Shingon-in Temple
• Chodoin [ja]
• Ministry of Popular Affairs
• Ministry of Water Affairs [ja]
• Kikyo-mon Gate
• Accounting Dormitory [ja]
• Office of food preparation for the imperial family [ja]
• Yingtian Gate (There is both one in China, and one in Heian-kyō, modern day Kyoto)
• Tax-collection office [ja]
• Suzakumon
• Shikibu-shō

Other facilities

• Daigaku-ryō
• Kan'gakuin [ja]

Residence's of the nobility and princes

• Residence of Matsudono Motofusa
• Residence of Taira no Shigemori
• Residence of Tokudaiji Sanesada
• Residence of Shigenoi Sanekuni [ja]
• Residence of Fujiwara no Takaki [ja]
• Residence of Fujiwara no Kunitsuna [ja]
• Residence of Sanjo Sanefusa [ja]
• Residence of Minamoto no Sadafusa [ja]
• Residence of Fujiwara no Sukenaga [ja]
• Residence of Nakayama Tadachika
• Residence of Fujiwara no Sanetsuna [ja]
• Residence of Fujiwara no Yoritada
• Residence of Fujiwara no Toshitsune [ja]
• Residence of Fujiwara no Toshimori [ja]

Fujiwara no Kanezane noted all of these, also noting the current constellations, believing that they were a bad omen.[1][6][7]

References

1. Kamo, Chōmei (1996). Hojoki: Visions of a Torn World. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-880656-22-8.
2. Bausi, Alessandro; Brockmann, Christian; Friedrich, Michael; Kienitz, Sabine (2018-02-19). Manuscripts and Archives: Comparative Views on Record-Keeping. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-054157-1.
3. Hall, John Whitney; Takeshi, Toyoda (2022-07-15). Japan in the Muromachi Age. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-32552-4.
4. "The 18th GJS SeminarNarrating Disaster and Memoryscapes in The Tale of the Heike: Mediating the Great Fire of Angen (1177) | Events | GJS: Global Japan Studies". gjs.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
5. 日本放送協会. "即位の儀式の歴史｜平成から令和へ 新時代の幕開け｜NHK NEWS WEB". www3.nhk.or.jp. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
6. "都市史10 「方丈記」にみる三つの災害". www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
7. "The Great Fire of Angen - Kyoto through the Ages". kyotohumanities.jp. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
8. "二 The Great Fire of the Angen Period". Hōjōki Annotation and Translation Project. 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2025-01-31.