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Hōei Earthquake

When
1707–1708
Where
South-central Japan; Southwestern Honshu, Shikoku, and southeastern Kyūshū; Mount Fuji; Off the coast of the Kii Peninsula
Episodes
4

The Hōei earthquake struck south-central Japan on 28 October 1707, causing damage across southwestern Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. It remained the largest Japanese earthquake until 2011 and may have triggered the eruption of Mount Fuji.

Episodes

  1. 28 October 1707 · South-central JapanMain Shock

    The primary earthquake struck south-central Japan on 28 October 1707 at approximately 13:45 local time.

  2. 28 October 1707 · Southwestern Honshu, Shikoku, and southeastern KyūshūRegional Damage

    Moderate-to-severe damage occurred across southwestern Honshu, Shikoku, and southeastern Kyūshū.

  3. 16 December 1707 · Mount FujiMount Fuji Eruption

    Mount Fuji erupted on 16 December 1707, possibly triggered by stress changes from the earthquake.

  4. 13 February 1708 · Off the coast of the Kii PeninsulaMajor Aftershock

    A significant aftershock occurred off the Kii Peninsula on 13 February 1708.

Background and detail

Event Overview. The 1707 Hōei earthquake occurred at approximately 13:45 local time on 28 October 1707. It was the most powerful seismic event in Japan until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Historical sources did not distinguish between simultaneous or closely timed seismic events during this occurrence.

Impact and Magnitude. The quake caused moderate-to-severe damage across southwestern Honshu, Shikoku, and southeastern Kyūshū. Its magnitude exceeded the 1854 Tōkai and Nankai earthquakes, evidenced by 2.3 meters of uplift at Cape Muroto, Kōchi, and records of tsunami at distant locations such as Nagasaki and Jeju-do.

Aftershocks and Volcanism. A major aftershock struck off the Kii Peninsula on 13 February 1708. The initial earthquake might have altered static stress, changing magma chamber pressure beneath Mount Fuji, which erupted on 16 December 1707, forty-nine days after the seismic event.

Sources

  1. 1707 Hōei earthquake Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-26

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.