Lilian May Miller in 1920. After a brief period at the State Department, she returned to Tokyo in 1920. She was in financial ruin after the Great Kanto earthquake of September 1, 1923, when many of her prints and paintings were destroyed. Miller lived with her parents in Seoul, Korea from 1923 until 1927 or 1928. While in Korea, Miller made prints and recuperated over a long period of time from a serious illness. In 1930 Miller returned to Japan and moved to Kyoto. Her father returned to the U.S. and became head of the Far Eastern Department in the State Department, Washington.
1923 Great Kantō earthquake committed In the wake of the earthquake against thousands of ethnic Korean civilians (Zainichi) and Japanese socialists. The murders were carried out by right-wing groups such as elements of the Imperial Japanese Army, police and vigilantes in Tokyo and Yokohama. This earthquake devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. The earthquake's force was so great that in Kamakura, over from the epicenter, it moved the Great Buddha statue, which weighs about , almost two feet. Estimated casualties totaled about 142,800 deaths, including about