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The Tenmei daifunka was a large eruption of Mount Asama that occurred in 1783 ( Tenmei 3). 天明3年浅間山噴火の経過と災害 1783年浅間山天明大噴火 This eruption was one of the causes of the Tenmei famine. 天明3年浅間山噴火 It is estimated that about 1,500–1,624 people were killed in the eruption. The event is known in Japanese as Tenmei no Asamayake.
Dutch diplomat Isaac Titsingh's account of the Asama-Yama eruption was posthumously published in French in Paris in 1820;Titsingh, Isaac. (1820). Mémoires et Anecdotes sur la Dynastie régnante des Djogouns, Souverains du Japon. and an English translation was published in London in 1822.Titisngh, Isaac. (1822). Illustrations of Japan: consisting of private memoirs and anecdotes of the reigning dynasty of the Djogouns, or sovereigns of Japan. These books were based on Japanese sources, and the work represented the first of its kind to be disseminated in Europe and the West.Screech, T. (2006), Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822, pp. 146–148.
The volcano's devastation exacerbated what was already known as the "Tenmei famine". Much of the agriculturally productive land in Shinano Province and Kōzuke provinces would remain fallow or under-producing for the next four or five years.Hall, John. (1955). Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719–1788: Forerunner of Modern Japan, p. 122. The effects of this eruption were made worse because, after years of near or actual famine, neither the authorities nor the people had any remaining reserves.Hall, p. 170. The 4 August eruption killed up to 1,400 people, with an additional 20,000 more deaths caused by the famine.
Due to the Tenmei eruption, a lava flow called "Onioshidashi" flowed along the northern slope of Mt. Asama. Now, it is known as a tourist destination.
Although the disaster occurred in 1783, satirical depictions peaked after 1787 during the leadership of Matsudaira Sadanobu. A recurring motif in these works was the transformation of volcanic ash into gold, a theme that parodied the era's obsession with wealth during a time of extreme food scarcity. For example, the 1785 work Kiruna no Ne kara Kanenonaru Ki ("Do Not Cut the Tree That Grows Money from Its Roots") depicted gold coins falling from burning houses, ironically suggesting that destruction brought prosperity.
Later works used this imagery to critique social inequality and the government's strict frugality policies. The 1789 book Kōshi-jima Toki ni Aizome depicted ash from Mount Asama reaching Edo and turning into coins. The satire highlighted the grim reality that in a famine, gold was as worthless as ash because survival depended on rice, not currency. Other works, such as Yare Deta, Sore Deta: Kamenoko ga Deta yo (1788), satirized food shortages through puns, depicting soft-shelled turtles (*kame*)—a popular food source—rescuing a "rice" turtle (*kome*), thereby mocking the confusion between official ideals and the desperate needs of the populace.
These cultural products did not necessarily advocate for political overthrow but provided emotional release. By framing the catastrophic events through humor and the "ash into gold" narrative, kibyōshi allowed Edo residents to exhibit resilience in the face of environmental and economic collapse.
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