Sakurajima

1914 eruption

Quick facts 1914 Sakurajima eruption, Start date ...

1914 Sakurajima eruption
Sakurajima erupting in 1914
Start date	January 11, 1914
Type	Peléan
VEI	4
Impact	Pre-eruption earthquakes killed 35 people and the eruption killed 23 people;[16] caused an evacuation and significant changes to the local topography.

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The 1914 eruption (also known as Sakura-Jima eruption^[7] or Taisho eruption^[17]) began on January 11 and was the most powerful in twentieth-century Japan. The volcano had been dormant for over a century until 1914.^[18] Almost all residents had left the island in the previous days; several large earthquakes had warned them that an eruption was imminent.

Initially, the eruption was very explosive, generating eruption columns and pyroclastic flows, but after a very large earthquake on January 12, and another the day after, it became effusive, generating a large lava flow.^[18] Ash fall occurred as far as the north of Honshu.^[17] The January 12 earthquake killed 35, and in total, 58 people died.^[16][18] Lava flows filled the narrow strait between the island and the mainland, turning it into a peninsula. It transpired that about 90% of the total magma volume in dense-rock equivalent was lava.^[19]

Lava flows are rare in Japan—because the silica content of the magmas is high, explosive eruptions are far more common^[20]—but the lava flows at Sakurajima continued for months.^[18] The island grew, engulfing several smaller islands nearby, and eventually became connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Parts of Kagoshima Bay became significantly shallower, and it made tides higher.^[18]

During the last stages of the eruption, emptying of the underlying magma chamber sank the centre of the Aira Caldera by about 60 cm (24 in).^[18] This showed that Sakurajima draws its magma from the same magma reservoir that fed the ancient caldera-forming eruption.^[18] The eruption partly inspired a 1914 movie, The Wrath of the Gods, centering on a family curse that ostensibly causes the eruption.

Recent activity

Sakurajima's activity became more prominent in 1955, and the volcano has been erupting almost constantly ever since. Thousands of small explosions happen each year, throwing ash to heights of up to a few kilometers above the mountain. The Sakurajima Volcano Observatory was set up in 1960 to monitor these eruptions.^[14] Between 1955 and 2024, 15,057 eruptions from the Minamidake and the Showa craters were observed.^[19]

Monitoring of the volcano and predictions of large eruptions are particularly important because it is in a densely populated area, with the city of Kagoshima's 680,000 residents just a few kilometers from the volcano. The city conducts regular evacuation drills, and a number of shelters have been built where people can take refuge from falling volcanic debris.^[21]

In light of the dangers it presents to nearby populations, Sakurajima was designated a Decade Volcano in 1991, identifying it as worthy of particular study as part of the United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.^[22]

On March 10, 2009, Sakurajima erupted, sending debris up to 2 km (1.2 mi). An eruption had been expected following a series of smaller explosions over the weekend. It is not thought there was any damage caused.^[23] An eruption occurred from the Minami-dake summit crater at 5:38 on Sunday, August 9, 2010, sending debris up to 5000 m (16,000 ft).^[24] In 2011 and 2012, Sakurajima experienced several significant eruptions; volcanic activity continued into 2013.^[25] On August 18, 2013, the volcano erupted from Showa crater and produced its highest recorded plume of ash since 2006, rising 5,000 metres high and causing darkness and significant ash falls on the central part of Kagoshima city. The eruption occurred at 16:31 and was the 500th eruption of the year.^[26] In August 2015, Japan's meteorological agency issued a level 4 emergency warning, which urges residents to prepare to evacuate.^[27]

Scientists warned that a major eruption could soon take place at the volcano;^[28] it eventually did erupt around 20:00 on February 5, 2016.^[29] After a long pause of eruptions at the vent, the eruptions abruptly stopped there and returned to the Showa crater, on April 4, 2016, some 8–9 days preceding major earthquakes on the Median Tectonic Line near Kumamoto, Japan.^[30] Then, three months later, on July 26, it spewed volcanic ash 5,000 m (16,000 ft) into the air.^[31]

On October 3, 2020, at 07:35 UTC, the volcano erupted once again, this time from the Aira caldera. A volcanic ash advisory for aviation was issued by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Tokyo (VAAC) at 07:43 UTC, showing the ash cloud to be stationary and reaching FL100 (10,000 feet).^[32] On July 24, 2022, at 20:05 JST, an explosive eruption occurred at the summit crater of the volcano, and cinders scattered up to 2.5 km (1.6 mi) from the crater.^[33][34] Following this eruption, at 20:50 JST, the Japan Meteorological Agency raised the eruption alert level from Level 3 to Level 5, the highest level, and urged maximum precaution and evacuation.^[33] This was the first time an eruption alert level 5 has been issued for Sakurajima.^[35]

On February 9, 2023, an eruption occurred at the Showa crater on Sakurajima at 10:52 JST.^[36] The plumes had risen to 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) at 11:10 JST, according to the Kagoshima Meteorological Office.^[36] People in a 2 km (1.2 mi) radius were sent a warning by the local weather observatory against pyroclastic flows and falling rocks.^[37] On February 14, 2024, an eruption occurred at the southern peak's Minamidake crater on Sakurajima at 18:33 JST, emitting plumes of over 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) in height and spewing rocks as far as 1.3 km (0.81 mi) away.^[38] Minamidake crater again erupted on October 18, 2024 with a plume above 4 km (2.5 mi).^[5] Between May 15 and May 16, 2025 multiple small eruptions with volcanic plumes up to 3 km (1.9 mi) high occurred disturbing local air travel.^[39] On November 16, 2025, Minamidake crater erupted at 00:57 JST with an eruption plume that reached 4,400 m (14,400 ft) high.^[5] Volcanic rocks from the eruption reached as far as the fifth station, some 1.2 km (0.75 mi) from the crater and a level 3 alert was issued.^[40] On April 11, 2026, another eruption occurred at the Minamidake crater at 12:04 JST. The plume reached a height of 3,400 m (11,200 ft) with large volcanic rocks reaching the volcano's 7th station ejected. Alert level 3 remains in effect.^[1]

Summary of eruptive history