True run-up heights reached by the huge tsunami of 1896

The run-up height reached by the tsunami of 1896 at the former Ryohri Village had been erroneously recognized as high as only 21.9 m. Our study (1983) renewed the figure of 38.2 m (Matsuo, 1933), which is now officially recognized.In 1980, we selected the spot, Raga, Tanohata Village, and, using a hand level, pointed out the decisive underestimation of the run-up height in Igi's report (1897). Our study, however, provided only circumstantial evidence that the maximum runup at the former Ryohri Village might be 38.2 m. In 1986, we directly studied the run-up height at the saddle point at Ohkubo, the former Ryohri Village using hand levels, and confirmed that it was at least as high as 36 m. Countermeasures for future tsunamis need major revisions, a part of which is the consideration on the combination of the large V-shaped Ryohri Bay and a neighboring small (V+U)-shaped bay. This consideration becomes essential and we show that the (V+U)-shaped bay is of the worst shape, basing on the survival ratios of individual small subhamlets, which have been recently ready for use (Yamashita, 1982).