June 11, 1585 Tsunami: Off Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
A tsunami of unknown cause began at Off Miyagi Prefecture, Japan on June 11, 1585. The water rose as high as 2 meters. 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
- June 11, 1585
- Source
- Off Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
- Cause
- Unknown
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
June 11, 1585, 13:05:14 local time, tsunami event validity questionable (1). Tsunami at Tokura village, Motoyoshi County, by tradition. No quake description. (reference #150)
June 11, 1585, tsunami event validity questionable (2). There was a tsunami on the coast of Motoyishi District, Miyagi Prefecture. It is possible that the date is mixed up, and this refers to the tsunami of January 18, 1586 or to an effect of the Peruvian tsunami of July 9, 1586. (reference #414)
June 11 (21), 1585. Kaisho legend in Togura village which gives incorrect western date of June 21. Imamura identifies as distant tsunami if valid. Miyagi Prefecture suggest it may be misdated observation of Tokaido tsunami of 1586 Jan. 18. Kunitomi erroneously described the latter event as the subject of the legend and lists the former as if without question. JMA (1961) suggests the legend may refer actually to the Peru tsunami of 1586, which would have arrived Jul. 10 or Jul 11. (reference #79)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokura Village, Motoyoshi County | Japan | 2 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1585The 1500sTsunamis of JapanThis 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 188.