November 1, 878 Earthquake: Kanagawa, Japan
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Kanagawa, Japan on November 1, 878.
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
- November 1, 878
- Place
- Kanagawa, Japan
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.500° N, 139.300° E
- Country
- Japan
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
This earthquake occurred on 1 November 878 (Gregorian Calendar) or 29 September in the second year of the Gangyo era (Japanese calendar). The magnitude was estimated as M 7.4 (Utsu, 2002; Usami et al., 2013). Nihon–Sandai– Jitsuoku (Chronicle of Japan) described that the earthquake shook and tore many provinces in the Kanto region, especially Sagami and Musashi, and aftershocks continued for several days. Ground subsidence happened, and collapsed houses killed many farmers […] no mention of a tsunami. (reference #13909)
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
- September 20, 1498, Enshunada Sea, Japan
- November 25, 1930, Idu, Honshu, Japan
- April 9, 1858, N, Hida, Japan
- September 12, 1495, Kamakura, Japan
- July 29, 1649, Tokyo, Japan
- March 1, 1633, Odawara, Japan
- March 11, 1853, Odawara, Japan
- October 23, 2004, Niigata Prefecture, Honshu, Japan
- April 28, 1714, Oomati, Japan
- September 13, 1984, Mt Ontake, Central, Honshu, Japan
- May 8, 1974, Nakagi, Japan
More
Significant earthquakes of 878The 800sRecent 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 10786.