Starr happened to be in Japan when the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and subsequent major fires struck the main island of Honshū . In the absence of news from the devastated area , speculation about his safety was published in the '' New York Times . '' His plans to spend several months researching the vicinity of Mt. Fuji were not specific , nor was the extent of the quake area known . Reports that the area near Mt. Fuji were hard hit led to increased concerns . The US Embassy in Tokyo published Dr. Starr 's name among the list of survivors . Dr. Starr had escaped to the relative safety of Zojo-ji , a famous Buddhist Temple in Tokyo 's Shiba district in what is today Minato ward . A brief description from a letter he wrote to friends in Auburn , New York , was printed in the '' New York Times : '' We went to the temple grounds , but at midnight , the priests took us up higher and higher to the innermost temple . Here on the topmost step , I sat till morning , watching the brazen sky beyond the slope meaning ruin to millions . " Dr. Starr died of bronchial pneumonia at age 74 in Tokyo , August 14 , 1933 . Services were held at Trinity Cathedral in Tokyo . Among those attending was Japanese Premier Makoto Saito . He was survived by his sister , Lucy Starr , who helped execute his estate after his death
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Frederick Starr