The history of their fire service is chronicled in the Tokyo Fire Department’s Fire Museum. This ultra-modern interactive museum is built adjacent to one of Tokyo’s downtown multiple-company fire stations. It is a 10-story, compact structure designed to show a different aspect of the fire service on each floor, with ample space for breaks or brief rests for families or school groups. The museum not only is the gem of their public-education programs on topics from smoke detectors to earthquake preparation, it also captures the history and evolution of their fire service.

For example, one of my favorite displays was a diorama that depicts the response to a fire at the Emperor’s Palace during the Edo Period more than 400 years ago. During that time, the Shoguns swore allegiance to the emperor and provided him with protection. When not at war, the Shogun’s Samurais also acted as firefighters. Their special uniforms allowed them access to any portion of the palace, and nearly ultimate authority during times of fires and other disasters.

Adjacent to the diorama is the oldest fire service preplan that I’ve ever seen on display. It contained the actual area assignments where each group of Samurais would report around the palace and with what equipment, including ladders, hooks, buckets and hand pumps. Each company had a unique standard that was carried ahead of their response and placed atop the building to which the Samurais were to report on the palace grounds. Many fires occurred during the Edo Period, but the Emperor’s Palace never was destroyed.

Also on display are actual fire apparatus from the 19th and 20th century. Prior to the 1923 earthquake, most apparatus was European in design — mostly German or British. After the earthquake, the apparatus appears to have transitioned toward American equipment. Surviving examples include a 1924 Ahrens-Fox piston pumper, a 1928 Maxim and a similar-era Stutz. These engines not only survived earthquakes and fires but also the intense bombing of the city during 1944–1945.