Tsunami strikes the Japanese coast

1186

A powerful earthquake off the Kii Peninsula generated a devastating tsunami that swept inland along the exposed shores of the Inland Sea, destroying fishing villages, coastal temples, and harbor infrastructure. The disaster was recorded in the personal diary of the Kyoto courtier Kujo Kanezane, who noted the strange omens and interpreted them as heaven's unmistakable displeasure with the bloody civil war then raging between the Taira and Minamoto warrior clans.