December 17, 1096 Tsunami: Enshunada, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.4 earthquake began at Enshunada, Japan on December 17, 1096. The water rose as high as 7 meters. Its effects were recorded at 5 places.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- December 17, 1096
- Source
- Enshunada, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.4
- Maximum water height
- 7 m (23.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 5
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 34.000° N, 137.500° E
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 400
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.
Large tsunami along the coasts of Suruga Bay and Ise Bay. 400 houses in Suruga washed away, 4-5 m in height at Tsu, Ise. Atsumi 5-7 m. (reference #150)
December 17, 1096. There was an earthquake (34.2 N, 137.3 E, magnitude 8.4, tsunami intensity 2 at Kinki that was also felt at Kyoto. A tsunami was observed on the coast of Mie and Shizuoka Prefectures where more than 400 homes and temples were washed away. (reference #414)
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atsumi | Japan | 78 | 7 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Suruga Bay | Japan | 101 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Mie | Japan | 117 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Tsu | Japan | 120 | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Shizuoka | Japan | 137 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1096The 1000sTsunamis of JapanThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups 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 tsunami event 96.