July 29, 1649 Earthquake: Tokyo, Japan
An earthquake struck Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 1649. It killed 200 people.
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
- July 29, 1649
- Place
- Tokyo, Japan
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 35.500° N, 140.000° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- 200
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.
July 29, 1649, 35.5 N, 140 E, 200 deaths, Tokyo. (reference #1068)
July 29, 1649, Japan, Tokio, Nikko, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed
towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
July 30, 1649. There was a strong earthquake in Tokyo and Saitama Prefectures, and also at Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. It caused damage and destruction; several people were killed. The epicenter was on land and closer to Tokyo (Edo) than to Nikko, presumably within 40 km north of Tokyo, The parameters of the earthquake are: 36.1 N., 139.7 E.; M=7.1 (Anon. (J), 1899 a,b; Omori, 1913; Iida et al., 1967). Sieberg's catalogue (1932), probably mistakenly, indicates-that there was a tsunami (Iida et al., 1967). (reference #414)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 1, 1923, Tokyo, Yokohama, Japan
- May 27, 1293, Kamakura, Japan
- November 11, 1855, Tokyo, Japan
- December 30, 1703, Off SW Boso Peninsula, Japan
- November 4, 1677, Off SE. Boso Peninsula, Japan
- November 25, 1930, Idu, Honshu, Japan
- September 12, 1495, Kamakura, Japan
- March 1, 1633, Odawara, Japan
- March 11, 1853, Odawara, Japan
- May 8, 1974, Nakagi, Japan
- January 14, 1978, Tokkaido, Oshima, Japan
- June 20, 1894, Tokyo, Japan
- September 21, 1931, Honshu, Japan
- January 15, 1924, Sagami, Japan
- July 11, 1935, Honshu, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1649The 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 978.