Asamayama

May 13, 1598 Eruption of Asamayama

May 13, 1598 · VEI 2 · 800 deaths

Asamayama in Japan erupted on May 13, 1598 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 800 people.

Where it erupted

Asamayama, Japan, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
May 13, 1598
Volcano
Asamayama, complex volcano
Country
Japan
Volcanic Explosivity Index
2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Killed by
Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location
36.406° N, 138.523° E

The toll

Deaths
800

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.

Religious pilgrims who had climbed the volcano were killed at the summit (where they were staying because it was not a religiously auspicious day to descend).

Other significant eruptions of Asamayama

More

Every eruption in 1598The 1500sAsamayamaEarthquakes near AsamayamaThis day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions 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. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4480.