force of the Ansei quake. Koishikawa Mito Domain's upper residence collapsed, and Mito Domain Karo Toda Chudayu, Fujita Toko, who was said to be Mito's Ryota, was a confidant of Tokugawa Nariaki, the lord of Mito Domain, died. Nariaki's son-in-law, Nanbu Toshigo, the lord of the Morioka Domain, was also injured. After losing its leader, internal strife intensified, leading to the Sakurada Gate Incident Ansei (1860). Edo Castle and the residences of the shogunate were severely damaged, and Shogun Tokugawa Iesada was temporarily took refuge in Fukiage Garden. In addition to loans for reconstruction funds and expenses for restoration projects to the domains affected by the Ansei Tokai and Nankai earthquakes of the previous year, the Edo Shogunate was forced to spend a large amount of money on support for the hatamoto and gokenjin and disaster victims of the earthquake and for the reconstruction of Edo City, aggravating the financial deterioration at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Characteristics The earthquake was followed by 78 aftershocks in the first month. Aftermath Two days after the earthquake, prints began to appear, with more than 400 different types being available in the following weeks. Most of the prints depicted giant catfish, a type of image known as Namazu-e. The significance being that earthquakes at the time were popularly attributed to the thrashing about of a mythological catfish under the earth, normally kept under control by the deity Kashima using a large rock. The number of prints produced during the 1855 earthquake was unprecedented and has been related to the political and social effects of the disaster. The prints show the people's anger with Kashima who became replaced by the solar deity Amaterasu. Some of the prints also depict the redistribution of wealth. The earthquake has been described as an act of yonaoshi or 'world rectification', in the light of the two great earthquakes of 1854 and the arrival of Perry's Black Ships in 1853. Era of disaster Three large earthquakes, the 1854 Ansei-Tōkai earthquake, 1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake, and the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake are collectively called the Ansei great earthquakes (安政の大地震, Ansei no Dai Jishin). Combining the effects of these disasters with a major cholera outbreak killing over 100,000 people, a fire at Edo Castle, and the 1858 Hietsu earthquake, the Ansei era was one of quite catastrophic upheaval. Due to the cumulative effects of these disasters, the reign name was changed