Hoei taika (the Great Fire of the Hoei Era) (宝永大火)
Hoei taika (the Great Fire of the Hoei Era) refers to a fire that occurred in Kyoto on April 28, 1708.
A fire that started from the house of Zeniya Ichibee (a money exchange shop) at Sanjo agaru on Aburakoji-dori Street, spread its damages, fed by the south-westerly wind, to Kinri gosho (Imperial Palace), Sento Imperial Palace, Nyoin Gosho (Empress Dowager's Palace), and Togu Gosho (Crown Prince's Palace), as well as to the mansions of nobles such as the Kujo Family and the Takatsukasa Family, temples, and machiya town houses. Centering on the area of Kamigyo (Upper Kyoto), which is surrounded by Aburakoji-dori Street on the west, Imadegawa-dori Street on the north, Kawaramachi-dori Street on the east, and Nishikikoji-dori Street on the south, the fire burned down 417 cho blocks, 10351 households, temples, and shrines including Bukko-ji Temple and Shimogamo-jinja Shrine.
After the fire, there was a satirical poem posted around the city, which read: "Looking around, I see how even the city of Kyoto was turned into countryside./A spring even-fall visits our temporary abode made of reed" ("Genroku Hoei Chinwa" (Comical Stories from the Eras of Genroku and Hoei)). A part of the cho blocks and some houses were relocated to the suburbs such as east of the Kamo-gawa River (Kyoto prefecture) and Uchino after the fire, which led to the urban expansion of the city of Kyoto.