Scenes of Fire Fighting in Edo, handscroll

This is a 13-meter-long picture scroll depicting firefighters in Edo, the former name of Tokyo, without narration.
The picture was painted by Umezawa Seiga, an official painter of the Yanagawa domain.
Although many similar picture scrolls remain today, this scroll portrays individual firefighters in a comparatively accurate manner. Each figure is vividly depicted in various situations through the scenes which develop one after another. From these, this work is not only fine art but also valuable material for the study of history.

During the Edo period (1600-1868), the city of Edo was struck by 874 great fires and tens of thousands of people lost their lives. It was a catastrophe and almost the whole city was reduced to ashes. The bakufu (shogunate government) made daimyo (feudal warlords) take the burden of the firefighting and restoration, which put a strain on the finances of the daimyo families. On the other hand, in the Edo period after civil wars had ended and the nation was stabilized, the brave performance and success in firefighting were the only ways for the warlord families to be granted glory.
As the saying goes, ‘Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo.’ Indeed, the city of Edo was characterized by frequent great fires. An essay in the Edo period describes how the daimyo’s firefighters rushed to the scene, wearing stylish outfits and carrying matoi (fire brigade standard) in gold and silver; the scene was filled with a crowd of onlookers.

In the case of the Daimyo Tachibana family of the Yanagawa domain, it is recorded in the remaining document that they were members of the fire department of the Asakusa Okura area in Edo. Unfortunately, neither their outfits nor their matoi standards remain. However, we can see their bravery in this handscroll.
In the most climactic scene, adorned with flames, sparks and hot air, is a man standing firm with his feet set apart on the roof holding the sword-shaped matoi standard; he is a matoi bearer of the Tachibana family. He is closing his mouth tightly, wearing a grey leather surcoat and a chest protector with white flowers designed in ancient Chinese characters. On the ground, there is a footman in the same family who is in a light blue coat with a white coin design. It also depicts civilian firefighters, known as the IROHA 47 units. It is interesting to compare the differences in outfits between the daimyo and civilian firefighters.