Ryōunkaku Ryōunkaku The was Japan's first western-style skyscraper. It stood in the Asakusa district of City of Tokyo (now Taitō, Tokyo) from 1890 until its demolition following the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923. The , as it was affectionately called by Tokyoites, was Tokyo's most popular attraction, and a showcase for new technologies. It housed Japan's first electric elevator. The Ryōunkaku quickly became a landmark and symbol of Asakusa after its opening in 1890. It was a major leisure complex for visitors from all over Tokyo. When the 1894 tremor weakened the structure, it was reinforced with steel girders. However, the
1923 Great Kantō earthquake as the earthquake. These winds caused fires to spread rapidly. The Emperor and Empress were staying at Nikko when the earthquake struck Tokyo, and were never in any danger. Many homes were buried or swept away by landslides in the mountainous and hilly coastal areas in western Kanagawa Prefecture; about 800 people died. A collapsing mountainside in the village of Nebukawa, west of Odawara, pushed the entire village and a passenger train carrying over 100 passengers, along with the railway station, into the sea. A tsunami with waves up to high struck the coast of Sagami Bay, Bōsō Peninsula, Izu