May 12, 701 Earthquake: Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Kyoto Prefecture, Japan on May 12, 701. 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
- May 12, 701
- Place
- Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 35.700° N, 135.400° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
701, May 12. There was an earthquake in the Tango district. There was a sizeable tsunami in the western part of Wakasa Gulf and on Kamuri Island. Kamuri Island (at that time, its length was 4 km along the meridian, 2.4 km along the parallel) was almost submerged and only the mountain peak was left. The village on the island was completely submerged under water.
Iida et al. (1967): 35.6 N., 135.4 E.; M=7, m=2.5.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 18, 1586, Ise Bay, Japan
- October 27, 1891, Mino-Owari, Japan
- January 16, 1995, Kobe, Awaji-Shima, Nishinomiya, SW Honshu, Japan
- June 28, 1948, Fukui, Japan
- March 7, 1927, SW, Honshu, Japan
- January 12, 1945, S, Honshu, Japan
- September 10, 1943, S, Honshu, Japan
- July 9, 1854, Iga, Ise, Yamato, Japan
- June 16, 1662, Yamasiro, Japan
- May 23, 1925, Tajima, Honshu, Japan
- August 19, 1830, Kyoto, Japan
- April 9, 1858, N, Hida, Japan
- August 14, 1909, Oomi, Japan
- September 13, 1984, Mt Ontake, Central, Honshu, Japan
- August 19, 1961, W Coast, Honshu, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 701The 700sRecent 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 5894.