September 5, 1836 Tsunami: Sanriku, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake began at Sanriku, Japan on September 5, 1836. 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 5, 1836
- Source
- Sanriku, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 5.9
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
- Source location
- 37.700° N, 142.000° E
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.
Reference #150:
Sept 5, 1836, 37.7 N, 142 E, magnitude 5.9, Off Miyagi Prefecture. Rikuzen, Rikuchu tsunami. Probably erroneous date of June 25. Tenpo 6. Same event as previous one [July 20, 1835].
Reference #414:
Sept 5?, 1836, 37.7 N, 142 E, magnitude 5.9. There was an earthquake at Sendai. Many homes were destroyed in the city (Omori, 1913). A tsunami wave was observed on the coast at Sendai (Miyagi Prefecture). [This may be the same wave as the two preceding ones - July 20, 1835]
Reference #79:
Sept 6, 1836, 37.7 N, 142 E, magnitude 5.9, source: Sanriku, observation: Japan, Rikuzen-Sendai. Listing of tsunami on Tenpo 7 VII 25 in Musya's summary (1951) is based on description of effects at Sendai in a letter quoted in his 1943 detailed report, which might equally well refer to the event of 1835 July 20 rather than this quake 13 months later... It seems doubtful that there was a Sendai tsunami in 1836.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sendai | Japan | 106 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1836The 1800sTsunamis 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 700.