Anthropological Approach to Vulnerability and Major Hazards - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 289

Figure 7.7. “The namazu deliverer of medicines” (Furidashi namazu-gusuri). The
texts indicate that the earthquake is a medecine that restablishes the flow and
circulation of the money collected in warehouses, restores warmth in injured hearts,
takes care of poverty, reduces laziness and prevents the harmful effects of a luxurious
life (source: [SMI 06, p. 1061]; text: [LUD 06])
7.4.6. Conclusion: the fundamental ambivalence of catastrophes
The graphic treatment of the volcanic eruption that struck Edo in
1855 constitutes an example of the media treatment of catastrophe
lacking in catastrophism or complacency. This case furnishes all the
elements that illustrate what a catastrophe can consist of in a
concrete sense: although one region may be hit by disaster, only a
portion of the life forms that make up this milieu is affected in a
harmful manner.