May 27, 1293 Tsunami: Kamakura, Sagami Bay, Japan

Name: May 27, 1293 Tsunami: Kamakura, Sagami Bay, Japan
Start: 1293-05-27
Location: Kamakura, Sagami Bay, Japan

May 27, 1293 · 23,024 deaths · Erroneous entry

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at Kamakura, Sagami Bay, Japan on May 27, 1293. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 23,024 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.

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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: May 27, 1293
Source: Kamakura, Sagami Bay, Japan
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.1
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 1
Tsunami magnitude (Iida): 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Erroneous entry
Source location: 35.200° N, 139.400° E

The toll

Deaths: 23,024 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it

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.

1293, May 27. Destroyed main shrine and temples: Tsuragakoa Wakamiya, Daijiji, Kenchoji, Kamakura government offices were destroyed by earthquake, 23,024 deaths. Tsunami attacked Kamakura area. (reference #150)

1293. There is an erroneous reference in some sources (Krummel, 1911; Daly, 1926; Heck, 1947 ref #132) to a catastrophic tsunami in Japan (Iida et a1. 1967). (reference #414)

There were 140 deaths near Torii (Shrine gate) near the beach that might indicate drowned people from the tsunami. The total number of casualties was reported to be from several thousands to 23,034. (reference #13909)

Report by Daly, copied by Heck (ref #132), of a tsunami causing 30,000 deaths is not corroborated by any Japanese author and is certainly mistaken. (reference #79)

1293, May 27. Erroneous tsunami. (reference #3785)

Reference #13912 lists that it may have generated a tsunami

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
Kamakura	Japan	18			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1293 The 1200s Tsunamis of Japan The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 110.