August 3, 1361 Earthquake: Nankaido, Japan
A magnitude 8.4 earthquake struck Nankaido, Japan on August 3, 1361. It killed 660 people, counting the tsunami it caused.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- August 3, 1361
- Place
- Nankaido, Japan
- Magnitude
- 8.4 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 33.000° N, 135.000° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 660 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- 1,700 with its tsunami and other effects
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Aug 3, 1361, 33 N, 135 E, magnitude 8.4. There was a strong earthquake in Tokushima, Osaka, Wakayama, and Nara Prefectures and on Awaji Island. It was also felt rather strongly, but without consequences, at Kyoto. A tsunami was observed on the coast of Tokushima and Kochi Prefectures, in Kii Strait and in Osaka Bay. [33.4 N, 135 E.; m=4]. (reference #414)
...the non-local destructive earthquake of 1361, which caused such awful havoc in the southern part of Central Japan, especially in the Kii Peninsula, besides bringing in its train tsunami on the shores of Kii Channel and Osaka Bay. (reference #1097)
August 3, 1361, Kinai, magnitude 8.4. (reference #1002)
August 3, 1361,in Kinai, Japan, intensity II earthquake which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 16, 1995, Kobe, Awaji-Shima, Nishinomiya, SW Honshu, Japan
- February 3, 1605, Nankaido, Japan
- October 28, 1707, Nankaido, Japan
- December 24, 1854, Nankaido, Japan
- December 20, 1946, S Coast, Honshu, Japan
- December 20, 1711, Seionaikai, Japan
- August 26, 887, Nankaido, Japan
- February 22, 1099, Nankaido, Japan
- February 27, 1671, Nankaido, Japan
- April 17, 1948, Tokaido, Japan
- September 20, 1498, Nankaido, Japan
- December 3, 1855, Nankaido, Japan
- August 15, 1331, Sagami, Japan
- August 8, 1808, E. Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
- November 29, 684, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1361The 1300sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 556.