Comments on: Living in the Shade of Sakurajima—The Most Active Volcano in Japan

By: Diane Tincher

Diane Tincher — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 07:15:03 +0000

In reply to Bob Bello. I cannot answer your question with certainty, but I would think that plenty of people were living on Sakurajima in 1619. After the tremendous eruption of 1914, people returned to their ancestral homes on the volcano and went on with their lives. I checked with a historian, and she said that population records were not kept in those days. The earliest record I can find is from 1871 when 11,429 people lived on Sakurajima.

By: Bob Bello

Bob Bello — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:24:52 +0000

Thanks for the great article! I’m writing a story about Satsuma in 1619, and I have a question. Do you know how many people lived on Sakurajima Island when the warlord Yoshihiro Shimazu retired there in the local shrine? Wikipedia only mentions this fact and nothing else. Was there a city or a village at the time (since the strongest eruption was in 1471-1476 and the majority was evacuated), or was there just a shrine/monastery of monks? Or do you know of any website that has such information about Sakurajuma before the 1914 eruption, when it stopped being an island? Thanks!

By: Diane Tincher

Diane Tincher — Tue, 03 May 2022 01:21:31 +0000

In reply to Mike. When there is a big eruption, falling pumice and rock can kill and destroy. During the normal, everyday eruptions, it’s not such a worry. Several of my adult students lived on Sakurajima as children, before helmet wearing was required. They used to enjoy going outside during eruptions with pots and pans on their heads. The clunking sound of the volcanic pebbles falling on their pots was apparently a fun thing to experience.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 02 May 2022 10:03:51 +0000

>>The fewer than 100 elementary school children who live on the volcano wear helmets for protection from falling pumice and ash as they walk to and from school.<<

Please pardon the tangent.

How much of a risk is the pumice?