Model showing the motion of an earth-particle during the earthquake in Japan on 15 January 1887

Model showing the motion of an earth-particle during the earthquake of January 15th, 1887, constructed by Sekiya Seikei at the Imperial University, Tokyo, Japan, c.1888. The inscription reads: ‘The course taken by the wire represents the path pursued by an earth particle during the above earthquake. The actual motion of the ground, both horizontal and vertical, is magnified fifty times. The model is made in three parts showing all the continuous motion during seventy-two seconds of time, the numbers marking the successive seconds. Kikai-Seizo-Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan.’

During the 1880s, Tokyo became a leading centre for the study of earthquakes. This model captures in three dimensions the insights gained from early seismographs, which – for the first time – created continuous records of earthquake motion. While previously it had been supposed that earthquakes began with a major shock in a single direction, the recordings from these instruments revealed that a single point on the earth’s surface vibrated in all directions, with the character of the motion changing during the course of the earthquake.

Sekiya had developed an interest in seismology whilst worked closely with some of the expatriate scholars employed by the Meiji state at the time, and especially with James Alfred Ewing, one of the leading innovators in seismograph design. In 1886 Sekiya was appointed Professor of Seismology at the Imperial University of Tokyo – the first such position anywhere in the world.

These Tokyo-made models were marketed and retailed in Britain by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, who promoted their value as educational tools to museums and colleges.