October 28, 1707 Tsunami: Enshunada, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.4 earthquake began at Enshunada, Japan on October 28, 1707 at 04:00 UTC. The water rose as high as 11 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 places. It killed 2,000 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
The tsunami
- Date
- October 28, 1707, 04:00 UTC
- Source
- Enshunada, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.4
- Maximum water height
- 11 m (36.1 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 34.100° N, 137.800° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 2,000
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 10,000
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.
1707, Oct 28. 34.1 N 137.8 E, magnitude 8.4. About 10,000 houses washed away, 2,000 deaths in total, at Owase more than 1,000 deaths and 1,000 houses washed away. Tsunami 11 m high at Neirua, Kumananonada. (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nieura, Kumanonada | Japan | 104 | 11 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Owase | Japan | 148 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 1,000 |
More
Every tsunami in 1707The 1700sTsunamis 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 2952.