February 3, 1605 Earthquake: Enshunada, Japan
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Enshunada, Japan on February 3, 1605. It killed 1,001 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
- February 3, 1605
- Place
- Enshunada, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.9 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 33.500° N, 138.500° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,001 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100); 80 with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
February 3, 1605, Enshunada, 34 N, 137.8 E, magnitude 8.0, tsunami intensity 3, validity 4. Castles at Tawara in Atsumi and Kakegawa destroyed. 80 houses (80%) at Arai washed away. Tsunami attacked from Ise shima to Boso. More than 1,000 persons drowned. (reference #150)
January 31 (February 3), 1605, 20:00 [local time]. There was a catastrophic earthquake at Nankaido-Tokaido. Coastal mountains on the Boso Peninsula collapsed, piling up in the sea and forming elevations. The earthquake affected the prefectures of Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizouka, Aichi, Mie and also the islands of Shikoku and Kyushu. There are reports that a slight shock was felt on the Kii Peninsula. An earthquake was felt in Kochi Prefecture, but no damage is reported...
In some catalogs (References #150 and #3785) it is considered that two strong earthquakes occurred almost simultaneously in 1605: one at Tokaido and one at Nankaido with the following approximate epicenter coordinates: 34.3 North, 140.3 East; 33 North, 134.9 East.
(reference #414)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 20, 1498, Enshunada Sea, Japan
- January 12, 1945, S, Honshu, Japan
- October 28, 1707, Enshunada, Japan
- December 7, 1944, Off Southeast Coast Kii Peninsula, Japan
- December 23, 1854, Enshunada Sea, Japan
- December 17, 1096, Enshunada, Japan
- November 25, 1930, Idu, Honshu, Japan
- March 1, 1633, Odawara, Japan
- May 8, 1974, Nakagi, Japan
- January 14, 1978, Tokkaido, Oshima, Japan
- July 11, 1935, Honshu, Japan
- December 27, 1936, Nii Jima, Japan
- July 1, 2000, Kozu-Shima, Near S Coast Honshu, Japan
- August 10, 2009, S Coast, Honshu, Japan
- April 19, 1965, Aichi, Shizouka Prefectures, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1605The 1600sRecent 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 834.