Ravished by the Great Kanto Earthquake, 1923

In the book “TOKEI HATTATSU-SHI” by Hyoe Takabayashi’s, 1924, he states:

“Since the early days of the Meiji era, it was worthy of notice that everything antique met destruction as it were.  I mean all clocks of yore, which guides the studies of development and evolution, have gone into the hands of foreigners, and I feel very sorry when I think of this fact.  Moreover I feel all the more miserable when I know that to look up the lineage of time-pieces methodically we are compelled to rely upon collections abroad.

Old clocks and other curios of value, which should be preserved, are, like old wood print pictures, fast disappearing from our country.

On the other hand, there came a great earthquake and fire the 1st September, 1923, which ravaged the Kanto district, thereby rare collections owned by three or four of the well-known collectors have been mercilessly destroyed forever, and this calamity is really beyond our imagination.”

Ravished by the Pacific War, 1941 to 1945

In a letter of 1951 Prof. Ryuji Yamaguchi, University of Commerce, Tokyo, to the Office of the Secretary NAWCC, states:

“There were many collectors in Japan before World War II, such as:

1. Takabayashi Collection (Japanese Clocks and Watches), care of National Science Museum, Tokyo.
2. Kamiguchi Collection (Japanese Clocks and Watches), care of Kamiguchi Museum, Tokyo.
3. Tomiie Collection (Japanese and Eu­ropean Clocks and Watches), Tokyo.
4. Itakuta Collection (some Japanese Clocks, and great many European watches), Tokyo.
5. Maeda Collection (Japanese Clocks and European and American Watches), Nagoya.
6. Kondo Collection (Japanese and European Clocks and Watches), Osaka.
7. H. H. Mody Collection (Japanese Clocks and Watches).

Among them, (3), (5) and (7 ) were completely burnt down during the war, and (4), (6) were partly burnt down during the war, and the remaining parts were sold and dispersed. And there are only two collection; that is Takabayashi and Kamiguchi Collections, as far as I know and as far as Japanese clocks are concerned.“

N.H.M. Mody Collection

Ten Years after the Kanto Earthquake, N.H.N. Mody published his book “Japanese Clocks” in a limited edition of 250 (Author has Copy 158).  This book which catalogues his fine collection of clocks has become a major reference on Wadokei. Mody’s collection was housed in a single room of the Oriental Hotel, Kobe, (photo) where it was destroyed by US bombing

Sakujiro Kamiguchi Collection

See Pacific War above, albeit his collection appeared to survive.

Sakujiro Kamiguchi was featured in the Uniontown Morning Herald, Pennsylvania, USA, 6 Sep 1956, that included this photograph and caption: