September 20, 1498 Tsunami: Nankaido, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake began at Nankaido, Japan on September 20, 1498. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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
- September 20, 1498
- Source
- Nankaido, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.5
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 33.500° N, 135.200° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Sept 20, 1498, 33.5 N, 135.2 E, magnitude 7.5 tsunami intensity 2. Yunomine Hot Spring stopped for 52 days. Hongu shrine wrecked. Nachi temple collapsed. Minato in Wakayama damaged by tsunami of several m in height. (reference #150)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minato | Japan | 66 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1498The 1400sTsunamis 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 2993.