January 29, 1763 Earthquake: Sanriku,mutsu, Japan
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Sanriku,mutsu, Japan on January 29, 1763. It caused a tsunami.
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
- January 29, 1763
- Place
- Sanriku,mutsu, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.4 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 40.500° N, 143.500° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- 2 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.
Reference #414:
1763, January (mistakenly September) 29. An earthquake occurred with source at sea off the coast of the eastern part of Aomori Prefecture. It was felt on the south of this prefecture. There were many recurrent shocks.
A tsunami was observed on the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido Island. There was much destruction at Hachinohe and Hakodate.
Iida et al. (1967): 29.I; 40.8o N., 142o E.; M=7.4, m=1
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 15, 1896, Sanriku, Japan
- December 2, 1611, Sanriku, Japan
- March 2, 1933, Sanriku, Japan
- December 6, 1616, Sanriku, Japan
- May 16, 1968, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- March 4, 1952, Hokkaido, Japan
- August 23, 1856, Oshima, Japan
- August 9, 1901, Off Northeast Coast Honshu, Japan
- December 28, 1994, Honshu, Japan
- September 25, 2003, Hokkaido, Japan
- July 23, 2008, N, Honshu, Japan
- August 20, 2016, Off East Coast Honshu, Japan
- April 8, 1994, Off East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan
- February 20, 1979, Iwate, Japan
- June 10, 1088, Sanriku, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1763The 1700sRecent 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 1369.