Tensho o-jishin (The Great Earthquake of the Tensho Era) (天正大地震)
Tensho o-jishin was an earthquake which occurred on January 18, 1586.
Summary
This earthquake is also called the Tensyo-jishin (Tensho earthquake) or Shirakawa Earthquake, and the epicenter of seismic activity was in what is now the Northwestern part of Gifu Prefecture, also the magnitude is estimated to have been 7.9 – 8.1 on the Richter scale.
It was said to have devastated a large area across the Kinki, Tokai and Hokuriku regions, which is equivalent to the current area of Aichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture and Nara Prefecture. As such, it is estimated that this earthquake was caused by the movement of several faults at the same time.
In Ecchu Province, the Kifune-jo Castle collapsed due to the earthquake, and the castellan Hidetsugu MAEDA, his wife and others died. Hidetsugu MAEDA is the son of Toshiharu MAEDA, and the younger brother of Toshiie MAEDA.
The Kaerikumo-jo Castle in Hida Province was destroyed by the landslides from Kaerikumo-san Mountain, and the castellan Ujimasa UCHIGASHIMA and all his family died, which also meant the extinction of the Uchigashima clan. The landslides also damaged several hundred homes in the neighboring villages, and many people became its victims.
The greatest damage was brought on the regions of Kinki, Tokai and Hokuriku by the earthquake, such as the case of the Ogaki-jo Castle of Mino Province which was completely destroyed and burned, as well as the case of the Nagahama-jo Castle of Omi Province which was also completely destroyed and Yonehime, who was the daughter of the castellan Katsutoyo YAMAUCHI, died.